By Sinan Dogan and Alperen Aktas
BOGOTA, Colombia/ISTANBUL (AA) – Center-right senator Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party (PDC) won Bolivia’s presidential runoff election Sunday, according to preliminary results released by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
With 97% of ballots counted, the 58-year-old politician secured 54.53% of the vote, defeating conservative rival and former President Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, who received 45%.
Paz will officially take office on Nov. 8, ending nearly two decades of rule by the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, long dominant in Bolivian and Latin American politics.
During his campaign, Paz pledged to launch broad reforms aimed at promoting “capitalism for everyone,” expanding economic freedoms, boosting production and trade, and increasing credit access for small and medium-sized businesses.