Early official result showed the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) on track for its worst election defeat in a generation.

Senator Rodrigo Paz, the surprise top finisher in Bolivia's first-round presidential election, spent years traveling the country, posting hundreds of social media videos and honing his image like a fu

Now, on October 19, Bolivians will hold presidential runoff for the first time—an option only introduced in the 2009 Constitution. As voters prepare to pick their next president, AS/COA online looks at dark horse candidate Paz, the collapse of MAS, and the composition of the next national legislature.

STORY: Early official results in Bolivia show the country's ruling leftists on track for their worst defeat in a generation.Instead the electoral tribunal says centrist senator Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party is leading the election late Sunday.

Centrist senator Rodrigo Paz was leading Bolivia's presidential election, according to early official results, which showed the ruling Movement for Socialism on track for its worst election defeat in a generation.

Bolivia's presidential vote is headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday's election ended over two decades of ruling party dominance in the Andean nation.

Early results showed Bolivia's centrist Rodrigo Paz in a surprise lead in Sunday's presidential race, with a likely second round needed against conservative former president Jorge Quiroga.View on euro

Early exit polls in Bolivia's presidential election on Sunday showed Centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party leading, with the ruling Movement for Socialism party on track to suffer its worst electoral defeat in a generation.

LA PAZ (Reuters) -Bolivian presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga said he would dole out ownership stakes in key natural resources like lithium if elected in October as part of sweeping economic reforms, and signalled a willingness to improve ties with the United States.

The return to power of the far right in Bolivia proves once again that bourgeois nationalism only serves to disarm the working class.

Early official results in Bolivia showed the centrist Rodrigo Paz of the Christian Democratic Party leading Sunday's presidential race, with a surprise 32.04% of the vote according to the country's electoral tribunal.

A well-known figure in Bolivian politics, Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, 65, is a conservative candidate representing the Alianza Libre coalition. He briefly served as president from 2001 to 2002 and has worked as an IMF consultant and a mining executive.