Bolivia's President Evo Morales has said he will call a new election after

international monitors questioned the validity of his victory last month.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which monitored the elections, called
for the result to be annulled.

Mr Morales's announcement comes after weeks of anti-government protests over

reported irregularities and fraud.

Opposition leader Carlos Mesa said Mr Morales and his vice-president should not
run in the new poll.

Nor should they preside over the electoral process, he said.

"If you have an iota of patriotism, you should step aside," Mr Mesa said at a news
conference.
 Why protesters are on the streets worldwide

What did Morales say?

The president, who was first elected in 2006, has denied any wrongdoing and
ignored calls to resign.

"The candidacies must be secondary; what comes first is to pacify Bolivia," he told
a local radio station.

In his announcement on Sunday, he also said the country's electoral body would
be overhauled before the poll, with parliament choosing its members.

Mr Morales, who is Bolivia's first indigenous president, told reporters that he had
made the decision "to reduce all tension".

What did the OAS say?

In its preliminary report on Saturday, the OAS said it had found "clear
manipulations" of Bolivia's voting system and it could not verify the result of the 20
October race.
Image copyrightREUTERSImage captionProtesters marched in La Paz on
Saturday with a sign reading: "Resistance against the dictatorship"

During the audit, it said it found physical records with alterations and forged
signatures, and evidence of wide-scale data manipulation.
The international body concluded it was unlikely that Mr Morales had won by the
10% margin required for a victory. It recommended that a new electoral
commission be set up before a fresh election could take place.

For many, this will be seen as a climb-down after weeks of unrest. Evo Morales's
position was looking increasingly untenable over the weekend, with police units in
several cities joining protests against the government.

Now he's reacted to the report by the OAS, it seems he's prepared to make some
concessions. But for many others, it won't be enough to quell the anger.

In his press conference he said there would be new elections but didn't give any
detail as to when. Plenty of people doubt his intentions to move the country forward
in a democratic manner.

And many in the opposition won't accept Mr Morales as a candidate. He's been
accused of rigging the vote the first time, and his critics don't believe clean
elections are possible if he is running again.

Why has there been opposition to the election result?

Bolivia has been rattled by protests, strikes and road blocks since the night of the
election.
At least three people have died during clashes. The mayor of a small town was
also attacked by protesters earlier this week, who dragged her through the
streets barefoot, covered her in red paint and forcibly cut her hair.

Tensions first flared after the results count was inexplicably paused for 24 hours.

The final result gave Mr Morales slightly more than the 10% lead he needed to win
outright, giving him a fourth consecutive term.