Morales sets Bolivia recall date

Mr Morales first proposed a referendum last December

Bolivian President Evo Morales has set 10 August as the date for a recall referendum on whether he and regional governors should stay in office.

Mr Morales, who has more than two years left in office, said people would judge the work of their politicians.

He is embroiled in a political battle with regional governors over his attempts to reform the constitution.

Mr Morales wants wealthier eastern regions to give more to the poorer west, home to many of his backers.

Mr Morales first proposed holding a nationwide recall referendum last year in his ongoing battle with opposition governors.

The idea resurfaced last week in the wake of an unofficial referendum on autonomy held by the resource-rich region of Santa Cruz - a vote Mr Morales dismissed as illegal.

The Santa Cruz result apparently boosted opposition hopes of defeating Mr Morales, correspondents say.

Last Thursday, the opposition-dominated Senate passed a bill ordering elections to be held within 90 days on the mandates of the president, the vice-president and nine regional governors.

Observers

On Monday, Mr Morales signed the bill into law, setting 10 August as the election date.

"For the first time in Bolivian history, the people will not only have the right to choose but also to decide if the authorities are failing them," Mr Morales said.

He called on the National Electoral Court to guarantee the transparency of the referendum and urged foreign election observer groups to help monitor the votes.

The terms of President Morales and Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera formally expire in January 2011.

They will lose the recall referendum if more than 53.74% of voters - their margin of support at the December 2005 election - reject them.

In that case, a new general election will be held.

Regional governors will be subjected to the same test.

I do believe that Evo Morales places the interest of his country ahead of his own aggrandizement, a rarity amongst politicians of any stripe. There are not too many willing to hold a referendum with monitoring by foreign observer groups. I wonder if their senate can reject that request.