Bolivia's Vice President rejects magistrate appointment bill as unconstitutional

Vice President Edmundo Lara publicly rejected a Senate bill that would designate seven magistrates—five for the Plurinational Constitutional Court and two for the Supreme Court—without holding complementary judicial elections. In a press conference he called the initiative illegal and a breach of the Constitution, warning it would damage judicial independence and set a harmful precedent.

Lara urged the Senate to discard the proposal, advocated for complementary elections to fill the vacancies, and announced a meeting with judicial and legislative leaders to discuss constitutional solutions. Critics, including legal analysts, emphasized that Article 410 of Bolivia's Constitution guarantees its supremacy and does not permit the creation of “interim” magistrates by ordinary law, describing the bill as an attempt to undermine the constitutional order.