Editing Politics of Bolivia (section)

== Executive branch ==
[[File:Palacio Quemado (Palacio de Gobierno) y Catedral Metropolitana de La Paz, Bolivia.jpg|thumb|left|[[Palacio Quemado]], seats the [[executive power]].]]
The president is directly elected to a five-year term by popular vote. A candidate needs either an absolute majority or 40% and a 10-point lead to win the election. In the case that no candidate is elected in the first vote, a run-off vote elects the president from among the two candidates most voted in the first vote.<ref>«[https://web.archive.org/web/20090521023641/http://www.presidencia.gob.bo/download/constitucion.pdf Segunda Parte, Título II, Capítulo Primero, Sección II]» (PDF). ''Nueva Constitución Política del Estado''. p. 40. Archived May 21, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2020.</ref>

[[Hugo Banzer]] was elected [[President (government title)|president]] in 1997. Although no candidate had received more than 50% of the popular vote in the national election, Banzer won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming the so-called "megacoalition" with other parties. He resigned in August 2001 and was substituted by his vice president [[Jorge Quiroga]]. In August 2002, the winner of the national election [[Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada]] was chosen president by [[National Congress of Bolivia|Congress]], winning an 84–43 vote against popular vote runner-up [[Evo Morales]]. Elected president [[Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada]] resigned in October 2003, and was substituted by vice-president [[Carlos Mesa]] who governed the nation until his resignation in June 2005.  He was replaced by chief justice of the Supreme Court [[Eduardo Rodríguez (politician)|Eduardo Rodríguez]], acting as caretaker president. Six months later, on December 18, 2005, [[cocalero]] leader [[Evo Morales]] was elected president.

A group of MEPs acting as election observers oversaw a constitutional referendum in Bolivia that gave more power to indigenous peoples 25 January 2009. The tightly fought referendum laid out a number of key reforms such as allowing President [[Evo Morales]] to stand for re-election, state control over natural gas and limits on the size of land people can own.
{{Cabinet of Luis Arce, 2020-}}

=== Ministries ===
Bolivia currently has twenty-one ministries in the executive branch. The heads of these ministries form the cabinet.