In response to the increase in reports of political pressure against elected women in the current subnational context, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) took part in the roundtable “Women in Politics, Free from Harassment and Violence,” an initiative developed in partnership with public institutions, women’s organizations, and international cooperation actors to strengthen prevention and response to harassment and political violence against women.
In a post-electoral context marked by new allegations of pressure on elected authorities and so-called “shared governance” arrangements, the event was convened by the Vice Ministry of Equal Opportunities, the Plurinational Electoral Body, the Ombudsperson’s Office Pedro Francisco Callisaya Aro, and the Association of Women Councilors and Mayors of Bolivia (ACOBOL). It brought together representatives from the Coordinadora de la Mujer, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), Asociación de Concejalas y Alcaldesas de Bolivia (ACOBOL), ActionAid Bolivia, Oxfam Bolivia, the Departmental Prosecutor’s Office of La Paz, the Special Force to Combat Violence (FELCV) as a specialized unit of the Bolivian Police, the Ombudsperson’s Office, and experts in parity democracy and gender-based political harassment and violence against women.
The roundtable was opened by representatives of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung in Bolivia (FES), while the closing remarks and outlook on challenges were delivered by Katia Uriona G., on behalf of the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES). Among her reflections, she highlighted the limitations of the current legal framework and the role of the State and its competent institutions as guarantors of rights. She also outlined key axes to be considered in the reform agenda for Law 243, aimed at ensuring an effective response to complaints, proper attention and protection for women victims, and sanctions against perpetrators. She emphasized the importance of consolidating strategic alliances between public institutions, civil society organizations, and international cooperation to safeguard progress in parity democracy and to ensure that women can exercise their mandates free from pressure, threats, and political violence.
During the event, participants underscored the urgency of addressing persistent practices of political violence in the current subnational process, particularly the so-called “shared governance commitments”—informal agreements through which elected women are pressured to resign prematurely in favor of alternates or partisan arrangements. It was stressed that this practice constitutes a form of political harassment and violence, lacks legal basis, and undermines the popular will expressed at the ballot box.
The first panel addressed the main challenges in guaranteeing women’s political rights in the post-electoral scenario, analyzing structural barriers that hinder violence-free political participation. The Asociación de Concejalas y Alcaldesas de Bolivia (ACOBOL) presented documented cases of harassment and political violence against elected women and their national-level characterization, as well as shared experiences and reflections on women’s resilience and continuity in public office.
The second panel focused on institutional competencies and the State’s operational challenges in addressing such cases. Authorities from the Directorate of Equal Opportunities, FELCV, and the Ombudsperson’s Office participated, presenting reporting pathways, protection mechanisms, and response actions to political violence cases.
The roundtable forms part of the communication campaign “The mandate is not negotiable: No to shared governance,” promoted by public institutions, women’s organizations, and strategic partners to publicly position the illegality of such agreements, encourage their social and institutional rejection, and strengthen prevention, reporting, and protection mechanisms for elected authorities.
