Beijing Hopes For Speedy Settlement Of Bolivian Crisis Following Morales' Resignation

China hopes that the situation in Bolivia will be resolved peacefully, and that political, economic and social stability will be restored soon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, hours after Bolivian President Evo Morales and other top officials resigned amid growing unrest among the public

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th November, 2019) China hopes that the situation in Bolivia will be resolved peacefully, and that political, economic and social stability will be restored soon, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, hours after Bolivian President Evo Morales and other top officials resigned amid growing unrest among the public.

"We have paid attention to the drastic changes in Bolivia. China hopes that all relevant parties in the country will be able to bridge the differences peacefully under the law and the constitution, and restore as soon as possible social and political stability in Bolivia," ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a briefing.

A number of countries, including Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico, have called Morales' resignation on Sunday a coup.

Bolivia's opposition second vice president of the senate, Jeanine Anez, who has since assumed the presidency, promised to organize a new election.

Morales' presidency, which started back in 2006, had been a contentious subject in Bolivia since a 2016 referendum determined that presidential terms be limited to three. The decision was overturned by the Supreme Tribunal in 2017, allowing Morales to stand for a fourth term.

It was presumably due to this that the country descended into social unrest after it was announced that Morales had won in the first round of the presidential election on October 20. The opposition has disputed the results and criticized the vote-counting process, citing the alleged lack of transparency.