"We have approved a protocol … by two-thirds of the vote … We welcome all Bolivian citizens who would like to run because tomorrow morning all the requirements will be announced", the upper house speaker said after both houses of the parliament completed their sessions late on Thursday.
Under the new rules, beginning on Thursday, there will be 20 days to form the TSE. After the TSE members are sworn in, they have 48 hours to call the next election.
On Monday, interim President Jeanine Anez signed legislation paving the way for holding the next presidential vote. Under the law, a president is not allowed to stay in office for more than two terms, which prevents ex-President Evo Morales, who has already served three terms before resigning earlier in November, from being re-elected.
The law also stipulated that the new presidential election must be held within 140 days, including 20 days for the formation of the panel of the TSE and 120 days for organizing and holding the presidential election itself. The presidential vote is set to be held no later than 12 April.
Moreover, the law recognized the 20 October general election, won by Morales, which provoked mass protests, as illegal.
On 13 November, Jeanine Anez, the Bolivian deputy speaker of the parliament's upper chamber, declared herself the president of the nation without a parliamentary agreement, shortly after Bolivian lawmakers revealed they lacked a quorum to formally approve Morales' resignation due to an inadequate showing from members of the Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS). Despite her declaration, a lack of a formal vote violates the Bolivian Constitution. From his exile in Mexico, Morales described Anez's self-proclamation as an "partisan and nefarious coup" and an "assault on the power of the people".
On 10 November, the Bolivian armed forces urged Morales to step down. As a result, he resigned the same day and left the country. Bolivia's highest-ranking officials resigned as well.
