Bolivia rejects two decades of left-wing government but next president still to be decided in runoff

After more than two decades of left-wing dominance, Bolivia appears to be ready for a change. But with more than 90 percent of votes counted, it is still unclear which direction the country will take.

Results from Sunday’s presidential election put dark-horse centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz in the lead with 32.8 percent and right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga in second place with 26.4 percent. With neither candidate reaching 50 percent of the vote, the South American nation is now heading for an unprecedented runoff.   

Paz made a last minute surge after teaming up with Edman Lara, a former police captain with evangelical backing and a reputation for standing up to corruption in the security forces. 

The duo campaigned on the slogan "capitalism for all, not just a few," promising to redistribute wealth to the country’s regions and soften the edges of the opposition’s push for tough austerity to rescue Bolivia from a looming economic collapse.

Speaking to supporters after the initial results, Paz said his win was no surprise:

"It might be a surprise for some sectors of power that did not want to acknowledge this reality. Bolivia is seeking change. It is seeking renewal. (We expressed this) together with Paz-Lara as a team, but the vast majority of people have expressed a desire for renewal—self-employed workers, transport workers, the large majority of the country." 

The runoff will take place on October 19 – the country’s first since its return to democracy in 1982.