Bolivians Approve Morales’s New Constitution With 61.4% of Vote

[Judi Lynn]

Bolivians Approve Morales’s New Constitution With 61.4% of Vote
By Jonathan J. Levin

Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bolivia’s National Electoral Court said 61.4 percent of Bolivians approved a new constitution spearheaded by President Evo Morales in a Jan. 25 nationwide referendum.

The court released the official tally today on its Web site. Exit polls conducted by Bolivian television networks ATB, PAT and Universal de Television predicted the measure would win with about 60 percent support.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aU8_I1pxO4Qk&refer=latin_america

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Bolivian constitution passes with 61.4 per cent of vote
Americas News

Feb 2, 2009, 19:10 GMT

La Paz - Bolivia's new constitution passed with 61.4 per cent of the votes in favour, according to the final official count of referendum ballots released by the country's electoral authorities on Monday.

The measure received 2.06 million votes, with close to 1.3 million votes (38.6 per cent of the total) against the proposed text.

The abstention rate was 9.74 per cent, the lowest in Bolivia in the past 25 years.

President Evo Morales - who campaigned in favour of the new constitution - was set to sign it into force Saturday in El Alto, a city close to La Paz that is a stronghold of the left-wing president.

The new constitution gives more rights to Bolivia's indigenous majority and expands government control over the economy. It would also allow the president to run for a second five-year term.

More:
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/americas/news/article_1457219.php/Bolivian_constitution_passes_with_61.4_per_cent_of_vote_