Independent Investigation Finds Zero Evidence of Fraud Under Evo
Bolivia’s Attorney General has revealed the conclusions of an independent investigation, carried out by a Spanish university, which looked into allegations of electoral fraud in 2019. The report found no basis at all for the allegations presented by the opposition as an excuse to launch the coup. The criminal probe into the supposed ‘fraud’ has now been closed as a result.
The report was published by the BISITE Research Group belonging to the University of Salamanca. “It was prepared by a first-rate team made up of international experts, with extensive experience backed by prestigious foreign universities that employ them, giving certainty to the content of the report,” said Attorney General Juan Lanchipa.
The investigation concluded that in 2019 there were “Deficiencies and incidents but which did not pose risks to the integrity of the electoral process, nor to the results of the official count, and there is no evidence of vote manipulation because the computer system has the necessary consistency and was not altered at any time.”
This report echoes findings by other international investigations such as that by the Center of Economic & Policy Research and two reporters of the New York Times. All confirm that there was no electoral fraud committed by Evo Morales in 2019.
The allegations were first made by opposition candidate Carlos Mesa, who upon learning of his defeat to Evo Morales, declared the elections to be rigged without presenting any evidence. The accusations provoked weeks of street violence by fascist groups which claimed that their vote had been ‘stolen’. It all culminated with the infamous, now debunked, report by the OAS claiming that there may have been irregularities. In response, fascist groups stepped up their campaigns of violence and the Armed Forces then ordered Evo Morales to resign, therefore completing the coup against the elected government.
What followed was twelve months of unelected authoritarian rule under self-declared Senator Jeanine Añez who is now in prison for her role in the said coup. Her regime carried numerous massacres of indigenous protesters who were calling for the return of democracy following her illegal seizure of power.
Evo Morales won the 2019 election by a margin of more than 10% over Carlos Mesa, in an election which was stolen though the promotion of a campaign of fake news and baseless conspiracy theories on the integrity of the electoral process.