The 2022 Bolivian ombudsman election took place between 15 March and 23 September 2022 during the term of the 3rd Plurinational Legislative Assembly. This unusual intra-term election for ombudsman of Bolivia was necessitated by the resignation of on 24 January 2019, leaving Nadia Cruz as the acting authority for more than three years, even exceeding the expiration of Tezanos Pinto's originally set six-year term. This was the sixth ombudsman election since the office was created in 1997. Constitutional lawyer Pedro Callisaya won the contest, receiving ninety-five votes, a two-thirds majority of those present but not of the total membership of both legislative chambers. Callisaya's election was supported only by the ruling Movement for Socialism, while the two opposition blocs boycotted the vote.
This was the longest process for designating an ombudsman in Bolivian history, lasting six months and eight days from the initial call for applicants in mid-March to the final election in late September. Though the ruling party and opposition managed to reach an uncommon agreement to unanimously approve the convocation of the election, disagreements reemerged in the final phase of candidate evaluation due to the qualification of multiple candidates the opposition viewed as too close to the government.
The first two rounds of voting occurred on 5 May, with no candidate reaching the necessary two-thirds threshold to be elected. In the ensuing vote, the ruling party—originally divided between Pedro Callisaya and Porfirio Machado—coalesced around the former, while the centrist Civic Community lent its support to Evelín Cossío and the right-wing Creemos nullified its vote, demanding the process be done over. In the span of five votes over the course of four months, no candidate managed to reach the necessary support to be elected as each parliamentary caucus entrenched themselves in their positions. Finally, on 23 September, the Movement for Socialism called an impromptu vote, taking advantage of the absence of—mostly opposition—parliamentarians from Santa Cruz, who were celebrating the department's anniversary. With the support of two-thirds of those present, Callisaya won the necessary majority to become the next ombudsman.
The 2022 ombudsman election process was wracked by controversy, no less due to the dubious circumstances of Callisaya's final election. Throughout the election, analysts and observers questioned the Movement for Socialism's inclination toward selecting a pro-government ombudsman. The extension of Nadia Cruz's term three years past her original ninety-day acting mandate and a lower court's ruling granting President Luis Arce the ability to unilaterally designate an ombudsman should the legislature fail to were both denounced as a usurpation of functions, with the latter decision setting a precedent for the head of state to potentially designate the country's highest electoral, judicial, and constitutional authorities when their terms expire in 2023.
Background Selection process The ombudsman of Bolivia is the presiding officer of the Ombudsman's Office. The Plurinational Legislative Assembly elects the ombudsman to a single six-year term, computed from the date of their inauguration, without the possibility of extension. The Constitution establishes that the Legislative Assembly must issue a prior public summons for prospective candidates whose professional capacity and merits will be qualified through a public contest among those recognized for their ability in defense of human rights. Crucially, the selection process necessitates the support of two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly in a plenary session of both chambers: that is, 110 of the 166 parliamentarians—twenty-four of the thirty-six senators and eighty-seven of the 130 deputies.
The long interim , a criminal lawyer from La Paz, served as the National Director of Public Defense of the Ministry of Justice from January 2014 until May 2016. As the Movement for Socialism (MAS-IPSP) assumed control of both the Chamber of Deputies and Senate with a majority of two-thirds in the 2014 elections, the party held full control over the ombudsman selection and appointment process. Upon the end of Ombudsman Rolando Villena's term on 13 May 2016, Tezanos Pinto was elected as his replacement, with the votes of 103 of the 144 legislators present.
Throughout his term, Tezanos Pinto remained at odds with the opposition, who observed a partisan inclination towards the government. However, his ultimate downfall came when his wife reported him to the Prosecutor's Office on allegations of domestic violence, leading him to present his resignation on 24 January 2019, halfway through his term. Nadia Cruz, deputy ombudsman for the defense of and compliance with human rights, was subsequently elected as the acting authority, while the Legislative Assembly carried out the task of issuing the call for a new titular ombudsman. However, this process stalled, and by 2021, Cruz's interim administration had already exceeded the length of Tezanos Pinto's entire tenure and far surpassed the ninety days the law establishes for an acting authority to remain in office.
Legislative process
By the time Tezanos Pinto's originally prescribed term was set to expire in 2022, the MAS had lost its two-thirds supermajority in the 2020 election, meaning it would have to negotiate with the opposition to elect a new ombudsman. On 25 February 2022, the MAS presented a draft bill to initiate the selection and appointment process. In a marathon session on 5 March, the majority-MAS Mixed Legislative Commission of the Constitution approved the regulations to initiate the process. Although the MAS took into account some adjustments suggested by the opposition, they were nonetheless criticized for the approval of Article 20. This section of the draft regulation established that applicants for the position of ombudsman must meet at least eight of fourteen criteria before being approved. Legal analysts noted that since the MAS had a majority in the Mixed Commission, this rule would grant them complete control over the pre-selection of candidates, meaning that the plenary session of the legislature could do little more than choose between different MAS-aligned officials. Constitutional lawyer Williams Bascopé stated in this way, "the opposition is neutralized". Silvia Padilla, president of the Bolivian National Bar Association, elaborated that "the mediocrity of the opposition" had allowed institutions such as the Ombudsman's Office to "become an operating arm of the MAS".
Also questioned was Article 8 Section 15 of the draft regulation. This addendum disqualified all individuals who participated in the "rupture of the constitutional order", referring to the mass mobilizations that forced the resignation of then-president Evo Morales in November 2019, an event the MAS considers to have been a coup d'état. MAS Deputy Gualberto Arispe, who designed the regulation, stated that the rule barred all individuals who protested in 2019 or participated in the subsequent transitional government from being presented as candidates for the position of ombudsman.
On 9 March, the Senate and Deputies installed a legislative session to approve the regulations and issue the call for a new ombudsman. As soon as the session began, Chuquisaca Senator Silvia Salame of Civic Community (CC) raised a preliminary motion to establish that the regulation face the approval of two-thirds of the Legislative Assembly. Salame argued that since the Constitution states that the election of the ombudsman requires two-thirds support, the regulation must also be approved by that amount. The debate on Salame's motion erupted into general disorder, with shouts and whistles, as well as physical confrontations between legislators. The quarrel forced Vice President David Choquehuanca—presiding as president of the Legislative Assembly—to suspend the session for the day and summon caucus leaders to impose order over their subordinate parliamentarians.
The following day, Choquehuanca met with caucus leaders to seek consensus between all three legislative blocs. CC maintained their proposal that the candidate selection process require the support of two-thirds of the legislature. At the same time, Creemos demanded that the disqualification of participants in the 2019 crisis be excluded as an eligibility factor. While no agreement was met, the parties agreed to resume negotiations within the next two or three days. On 14 March, caucus leaders met again to review at least a dozen articles and provisions within the draft regulation. Also present were Vice President Choquehuanca and Minister of Justice Iván Lima, a fact that, according to Creemos caucus leader José Carlos Gutiérrez, "show[ed the] predisposition" of the ruling party to resolve the conflict". After some hours of negotiations, legislators of all three caucuses announced that they had reached a consensus and that the suspended legislative session would be resumed the following day. The most notable change in the draft regulation was the removal of Article 8 Section 15, thus eliminating the ban on those involved in the 2019 crisis and bringing the candidate selection process in line with the one in 2016. Both CC and Creemos assured that their political forces would vote in favor of the amended regulation. On 15 March, the legislature reconvened and unanimously approved the amended regulations, establishing eighteen requirements to hold office. The official call for the election of an ombudsman was issued the following day, with a fifteen-day application period being opened on 18 March.
Observers The regulations approved by the Legislative Assembly provided for oversight of the designation process by civil society organizations with recognized legal status, whose dedicated purpose is the promotion and/or defense of human rights. One of the organizations empowered to oversee the process was the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights of Bolivia (APDHB), chaired by Amparo Carvajal. However, on 29 March, it was noted that the Mixed Commission managing the election had certified a "parallel" APDHB chaired by Édgar Salazar as the supervising body. In December 2021, human rights activists affiliated with the MAS had discarded Carvajal's leadership and formed their own institution, electing a new board of directors with Salazar—a member of the MAS—as its president. Upon request, Carvajal was accredited as a citizen overseer, with the Mixed Commission clarifying that any civilian may witness the selection proceedings. Apart from Carvajal and the parallel APDHB, four other institutions were approved to oversee the process, including the Millennium Foundation and the Build Foundation.
Applicants
After five days without receiving any applicants, Ramiro Sanjinés, a barista and bartender, became the first person to officially register his candidacy on 22 March 2022. Sanjinés, a graduate in theology and history, had previous experience volunteering at the United Nations and Ombudsman's Office. He stated that his decision to run had been motivated by an alleged violation of his rights perpetrated by the Tax Service. If elected, Sanjinés pledged to seek the elimination of the life annuity for former presidents and stated that he would work to promote the Ombudsman's Office as a unifying force in the country.