President of the National Electoral Court of Bolivia, Dr José Luis Exeni said that voting abroad was an issue that needed to be considered because “…many years have passed since the law was passed allowing our compatriots to exercise their right to vote. However, the state and Bolivian society have not guaranteed our compatriots living abroad their fundamental right to participate in electoral processes. A bill, already approved by the Deputies Chamber, is on the agenda for the Senate. We hope that this process of reflection on this issue will push the issue forward.”

Voting abroad is not a new issue in Latin America, but it has become especially relevant in recent years. In an effort to analyze its characteristics, reach and limitations in the region, International IDEA and the national Electoral Court of Bolivia organized “International Workshops for Democracy: Referendums in Latin America and Voting Abroad” in La Paz, Bolivia, between 22 – 25 July 2008. The workshop had two principal objectives:

• to compare the experience of referendums in Latin America to maximize citizen participation in Bolivia; and
• to share Latin American experiences about voting abroad with a view of allowing Bolivians living abroad to exercise this right.

On the referendum issue, there was discussion of the relationship between representative democracy and the various forms of direct or participatory democracy as a means of broadening political rights.

The discussions also covered the importance of voting abroad, initiatives to strengthen the vote abroad, the type of elections it is used in, voter registration methods (requirements and personnel), election day and voting methods, voter participation levels and the impact of votes abroad, and costs.

The workshop included a comparative vision of Latin America, led by specialist Carlos Navarro of Mexico; and three relevant national experiences on the topic: from the Dominican Republic by Judge Leyda Margarita Piña Medrano, Peru’s Gastón Soto Vallenas, a former judge on the electoral court, and Colombian specialist Antonio Lizarazo.

According to Virginia Beramendi, Head of International IDEA’s Bolivia mission the “Workshops for Democracy” served as a space for dialogue and informed debate in the public sphere to work toward a democracy with certainty in its laws, quality of political representation, favorable conditions for citizens’ participation and respect of the results of popular will.