Last week, as part of our project in Bolivia, funded by the European Union through the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), we held the Departmental Meeting, “Towards Electoral Reform,” in Tarija. With this meeting, Tarija became the seventh department in the country to join the dialogue and deliberation process on electoral reform, contributing to the participatory development of a national reform agenda.
Organized by the Departmental Electoral Tribunal (TED) of Tarija, the meeting brought together many participants at the Los Ceibos hotel in Tarija, including representatives of political organizations, civil society organizations, Indigenous and peasant communities, public institutions, universities, professional sectors, and members of the Plurinational Legislative Assembly. This broad participation allowed the debate on electoral reform to incorporate different experiences, needs, and territorial perspectives.
Led by the Plurinational Electoral Body (OEP), the process seeks to develop legislative proposals through broad and inclusive participation, drawing on challenges identified during recent electoral processes and encouraging the identification of shared solutions.
The institutional and political importance of electoral reform for Tarija was reflected in the composition of the opening panel, which included representatives of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), led by its President, Gustavo Ávila; the President of the Departmental Electoral Tribunal, Carlos Martín Lema Bacarreza, together with all members of its Plenary; the Mayor of Tarija, Jhonny Torres; and the Department's Vice-Governor, Gonzalo Ávila. Among them were the Ombudsperson's representative in Tarija, members of the national Chamber of Deputies, departmental assembly members, and other authorities.
The participation of national, departmental, and municipal authorities also highlighted the particular relevance of electoral reform for Tarija. The department has a distinctive territorial structure that includes the Autonomous Region of Gran Chaco, giving particular importance to discussions on political representation, institutional responsibilities, and the adaptation of the electoral framework to different forms of territorial organization and self-government.
Throughout the day, participants worked in five thematic groups focusing on legal certainty and electoral predictability; political organizations; the electoral register; gender parity and inclusive participation; and electoral campaigns and disinformation. The discussions provided an opportunity to identify challenges, exchange experiences, and formulate proposals to improve Bolivia’s electoral legal and institutional framework.
Our experts Rafael Loayza and Carolina Floru supported the work of the thematic groups, providing technical and methodological assistance to the process. Our support contributes to collecting, systematizing, and analyzing the recommendations emerging from the departmental meetings, while linking them to the findings and recommendations of national and international electoral observation missions.
With meetings now completed in seven departments, the process is bringing experiences, concerns, and proposals from different territorial contexts into a nationwide exercise of analysis and deliberation. One of its main results is the progressive development of a structured reform agenda that identifies areas of agreement, incorporates complementary approaches, and preserves different perspectives, recognizing the importance of pluralism in democratic debate.
The Tarija meeting forms part of the consultation process led by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) and the TEDs across Bolivia’s nine departments, aimed at generating inputs for the review and potential amendment of Law No. 018 on the Plurinational Electoral Body, Law No. 026 on the Electoral Regime, and Law No. 1096 on Political Organizations.
Through our support, we help ensure that inputs from departmental deliberations are documented, systematized, and analyzed, preserving traceability and facilitating their consideration in developing legislative proposals. By bringing together contributions from across the country, this process seeks to translate citizen participation and experiences from different territorial contexts into concrete proposals for an inclusive, participatory, and technically sound electoral reform.
29 October 2026
