Turnout Estimated at 3.8 Million, With at Least 60 Percent in Favor
By Erin Rosa
Special to The Narco News Bulletin
http://narconews.com/Issue55/article3363.html
The campaign supporting the constitution has declared victory with a total of 60 percent of the vote. Four departments in the central and western region of the country, where support is strong for Bolivian president Evo Morales, approved the new constitutional text, while five remaining departments with a history of opposing the president's policies in the eastern region voted against the measure. Majorities in the La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro and Potosí departments voted yes, while those in Santa Cruz, Tarija, Beni, Pando and Chuquisaca voted no.
Voters also approved a ballot question to limit future purchases of land in the country to 5,000 hectares, results show, although most large plots of land that were privately-owned before the passage of the constitution will remain untouched by the national government.
Morales, the country's first indigenous president, voted Sunday morning in the rural Chapare providence located in northern Cochabamba, an area where he lead a union of coca leaf growers before being elected in 2005. It is the third major electoral victory for Morales following a recall vote in August last year where he was given more than two-thirds of the popular vote.
At least 300 observers from a wide array of organizations in Latin America, Europe and the United States monitored voting during the election.
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