Bolivia’s Legislative Assembly on Tuesday formally accepted the resignation of Evo Morales, two months after he resigned the presidency and left the country.
There was some debate among lawmakers before they made the decision, as some members of Morales’ leftist Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, also the majority in the bicameral body, wanted to reject his letter of resignation.
Henry Cabrera, senior member of the MAS and vice president of the Chamber of Deputies, announced the final decision, saying “the majority of the assembly has accepted the resignations” of Morales and his vice president Alvaro Garcia.
The announcement concludes an unexpected chapter in Bolivian politics, which saw conservative factions reject Morales’ re-election to a fourth term, citing electoral fraud in the October elections.
Following weeks of sometimes violent protests, and the military’s support for the conservatives’ demands, Morales resigned and left the country in November.
Bolivia’s opposition-backed interim government has scheduled new general elections for May 3.
Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks in a press conference in the city of El Alto, Bolivia, Nov. 10, 2019. (Enzo De Luca/ABI/Handout via Xinhua)
