(Reuters) -Almost 8 million Bolivians are set to vote on August 17 for a new president, vice president and all legislative seats – 26 senators and 130 deputies.
Ex-President Evo Morales, Bolivia’s dominant political figure of recent decades, is barred from running and has called on the electorate to boycott the race, but polls suggest his influence is waning.
Top of mind for voters is the fragile economy. Natural gas exports have plummeted, inflation is at a 40-year high, and fuel is scarce.
If no candidate wins the August vote outright the election heads to a runoff, scheduled for October 19.
The new president takes office on November 8.
Here’s a guide to the election:
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
Bolivia’s incumbent Movement for Socialism, or MAS, which has governed almost continuously since 2006, approaches the election as a weak, fragmented political force, with voter support waning amid the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
Opinion polls suggest growing support for right-wing parties pledging a change of direction and stabilization of the economy.
Morales, a three-time former president and co-founder of MAS, was barred from running after a failed attempt to change the constitution to allow a fourth term. President Luis Arce is not seeking reelection.
HOW DOES THE ELECTION WORK?
Bolivia’s electoral tribunal plans to roll out a new system this year in response to fraud claims made after the 2019 presidential vote that led to widespread unrest and the resignation of then-president Morales.
Under the new system, vote tally sheets will be photographed at polling stations and transmitted directly to counting centers. International observers from the European Union and Organization of American States are due to oversee the process.
Polls open at 8 a.m. (1200 GMT) and close at 4 p.m. locally. The tribunal aims to publish 80% of preliminary results on election night. Official results are due within seven days.
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES AND WHAT ARE THEIR PLATFORMS?
None of the crowded field of candidates vying for the five-year term are polling above 30%, with about a quarter of voters saying they remain undecided.
In the lead is 66-year-old Samuel Doria Medina, a center-right real estate tycoon who brought Burger King to Bolivia. Doria Medina’s main proposals include cutting government subsidies, privatizing state firms, and shoring up the economy.
Polling second is another conservative, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, 65, who briefly served as president from 2001 to 2002. He’s a vocal critic of leftist governments in Latin America, and his platform includes restoring private property rights and expanding free trade.
Support for left-wing and MAS-affiliated candidates is trailing the right-wing opposition. The leading leftist contender, with around 6% support, is Andronico Rodriguez, 36, who was once seen as Morales’ political heir but has distanced himself from MAS.
His platform focuses on rural voters and “intelligent austerity” proposals that aim to reduce government spending while prioritizing the disadvantaged.
WHAT ABOUT LITHIUM?
Bolivia’s vast salt flats are home to the world’s largest resources of the battery metal, but the country has long struggled to ramp up production or develop commercially viable reserves.
Russian and Chinese companies are among the few that have moved forward with development proposals, but the deals have not received approval from the legislature, where the ruling party is fractured and Arce lacks a congressional majority.
Some investors are hopeful that a political shift could lead to changes in the country’s regulatory environment and open the way to access the largely untapped lithium resources.
(Reporting by Lucinda Elliott in Montevideo and Camille Ayral in Mexico City; editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
