LA PAZ, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales called for new national elections on Sunday shortly after the Organization of American States (OAS) recommended that the controversial Oct. 20 vote be annulled.
He also announced the renewal of all members of the country's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE).
He called for pacification of the country in the face of conflicts, which have made Bolivians live with the risk of "serious confrontations."
"As president, my main mission is to preserve peace, social justice and economic stability," he said.
He said, in the following hours, the legislature branch will meet with the political forces to establish the election procedures for the new members of the TSE.
He said that it was decided to call for new national elections so that, by vote, the national authorities can be democratically elected.
"After this decision we take, I want to ask the population to reduce all the tension. We all have an obligation to maintain peace in Bolivia," he urged.
Morales' decisions were made after hearing the preliminary report of the OAS General Secretariat that recommended the annulment of the presidential elections held on Oct. 20 and begin a process with a new composition of the TSE.
The Morales government had repeatedly announced that it would comply with the OAS report to assume the determinations considered.
The president's decisions were announced after about 20 days of social and political unrest in Bolivia, due to the results of the elections, as the opposition claimed allegations of fraud in the election process and demanded the resignation of Morales.
The TSE officially confirmed Morales' victory on Oct. 25 after the final count of 100 percent of ballots concluded.
Morales, candidate of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) party, got 47.08 percent of the ballots.
Ex-president Carlos Mesa of the Conservative Citizen Community party came second with 36.51 percent of the vote.
To win outright, Bolivian law requires a candidate to get more than 50 percent of the vote or more than 40 percent of the vote with a 10-percent lead over the nearest rival.
But these results were not recognized by the opposition and civic groups, as protests and strikes were called on to push Morales to step down or to force new elections.
The OAS began auditing the results of Bolivia's general elections on Oct. 31 after the invitation of Bolivian authorities. Enditem
