Bogota, Oct. 27, (dpa/GNA) – A Bolivian court on Monday withdrew an arrest warrant for former president Evo Morales, eight days after his leftist MAS party took a landslide victory in presidential elections, local media reported.
Morales has been charged with terrorism, based on recordings in which a voice attributed to him calls for the erection of roadblocks and for cities to be left without food during post-election protests last year.
The court cancelled the arrest warrant on the grounds that Morales, who lives in Argentina, had not been duly summoned to appear before the tribunal.
The investigation into the terrorism charges nevertheless continues, according to the daily El Deber.
The ruling came eight days after Luis Arce, the presidential candidate of Morales’ MAS party, won the elections with more than 55 per cent of the vote.
The elections were a rerun of another poll held a year earlier, which was voided after fraud allegations against the candidate Morales sparked violent protests and forced him into exile.
The Andean country’s first indigenous president had governed for 13 years, earning praise for fostering economic growth and reducing inequality, though he was later accused of clinging to power and of corruption.
The October 18 elections are widely considered transparent, despite some protests by MAS opponents alleging fraud.
Morales, who has pledged to return to Bolivia, reportedly visited Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro on the weekend.
The ex-president is not expected to play any role in the government of Arce, who is due to be sworn in on November 8.
GNA