One candidate is Rodrigo Paz, a conservative centrist senator and son of a neoliberal ex-president who is pitching himself as a moderate reformer

Early official result showed the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS) on track for its worst election defeat in a generation.

The forthcoming presidential election in Bolivia promises change after years of socialist rule, but Indigenous and environmental leaders remain skeptical about its potential impact on deforestation and pollution.

Bolivia heads into an Oct. 19 runoff between centrist Rodrigo Paz Pereira and right-wing ex-president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga after nearly 20 years of socialist rule.

The return to power of the far right in Bolivia proves once again that bourgeois nationalism only serves to disarm the working class.

A well-known figure in Bolivian politics, Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga, 65, is a conservative candidate representing the Alianza Libre coalition. He briefly served as president from 2001 to 2002 and has worked as an IMF consultant and a mining executive.

Bolivians reacted on Monday to the election results that has the South American country headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday's vote that ended more than two decades of left-wing dominance in the Andean nation.