The embattled President Evo Morales made the announcement after the 35-member Organization of American States (OAS) recommended that the results of the October 20 election be thrown out. The OAS report found evidence of voting irregularities in counting and computer systems. In particular, the report noted that vote counting was halted with 84 percent of the votes counted and Morales appearing to be heading to a runoff with his opponent, Carlos Mesa, and when the vote tallying resumed after a full day of delay, the result showed Morales with a 10-point victory. The country's electoral rules call for one candidate to get at least 50 percent of the vote or have a 10-percentage lead over the nearest opponent. Polls leading up to the election showed that Mesa and Morales were running neck-and-neck.

Morales resigned and also removed the members of the electoral council who had overseen the disputed election.

Morales had enjoyed strong nationwide support, after becoming the country's first indigenous leader in 2006 and overseeing a period of economic prosperity. However, he gained widespread condemnation for his response to the results of a 2016 national referendum that clearly showed strong support for constitutional term limits that would have prevented his running again for the presidency. Rather than step aside, Morales took his case to the high court, which ruled that the terms limits were a violation of his human rights and that he should be allowed for a fourth straight term.

It wasn't the first such irregularity. A former union leader, Morales won election in 2006 and, after winning, helped craft a new constitution, which included a provision that the president would be able to have just one consecutive re-election. Just three years after being elected, Morales called for another election and then, when he won, interpreted that as the first election under the new constitution, not his second consecutive electoral win. The 2016 referendum asked voters whether the president should be able to serve consecutive terms.

Uncertainty has gripped the country since his apparent re-election, with protests growing widespread and violence increasing. Police in some cases refused to crack down on protestors. Among those calling for Morales to step down were members of the armed forces.