Spanish
Bolivia.- Former Bolivian President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga is emerging as the virtual winner in the presidential elections held this Sunday, August 17, 2025, according to the portal Polymarket.
Quiroga affirmed that the country will "change dramatically" after these general elections, after casting his vote this Sunday in La Paz.
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"It's a day that will mark the history of Bolivia, it will dramatically change the country after this August 17th, after two destructive, polarizing decades, of much persecution, of much pain, this Sunday the sun rises", Quiroga told the media. Quiroga (2001-2002) asked Bolivians to go vote for the candidate they choose and "not to be intimidated by anything" because "the most powerful instrument in democracy is a ballot paper". The former president, 65 years old, regretted that during the first hours of the election day, incidents occurred such as the one that happened to the official candidate Andrónico Rodríguez, of Alianza Popular, who was stoned and booed by a mob, after casting his vote in the political and union stronghold of former president Evo Morales (2006-2019), where he is considered a "traitor" for distancing himself from the former ruler. "It's a shame that people want others to vote blank, it's a democratic right, but to try to force someone to vote blank or to attack another candidate, I reject it and it's very sad that those in the Chapare have fallen into that," Quiroga. The former president, who is running for President with the Libre alliance, stated that although he trusts the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), his team has its own electoral control team led by his vice-presidential candidate, Juan Pablo Velasco, a technology entrepreneur. "With me is Juan Pablo Velasco, who has managed applications, developed them, created them and has brought investment to make Pedidos Ya and Yango, which has 50,000 drivers in real time. Knowing what 30,000 delegates are doing at the tables (of suffrage), nobody better than him", he said. Among the eight political organizations running in the elections, Quiroga and businessman Samuel Doria Medina, from the Unidad alliance, could compete in an unprecedented second round if what is reflected in the polls is confirmed. More than 7.5 million Bolivians of legal age are eligible to vote this Sunday in the general elections to elect a president, vice president and members of the Legislative Branch, while 369,308 citizens will exercise their right to vote abroad. The elections are taking place amidst a severe economic crisis, marked by a lack of dollars, fuel shortages, and the worst inflation in decades. Bolivia has for this election the Preliminary Results Transmission System (Sirepre), whose first data will be released at 21:00 local time (01:00 GMT on Monday).
