Morales, the three-time leader of the country, finished with the most votes in the October 20 presidential election. A report by the Organization of American States (OAS) recommended that the results of the October 20 election be thrown out. The OAS report found evidence of voting irregularities in counting and computer systems. In particular, the report noted that vote counting was halted with 84 percent of the votes counted and Morales appearing to be heading to a runoff with his opponent, Carlos Mesa, and when the vote tallying resumed after a full day of delay, the result showed Morales with a 10-point victory. The country's electoral rules call for one candidate to get at least 50 percent of the vote or have a 10-percentage lead over the nearest opponent. Polls leading up to the election showed that Mesa and Morales were running neck-and-neck.

Morales resigned last week and also removed the members of the electoral council who had overseen the disputed election. Morales sought refuge in Mexico, whose leader had granted the disgraced leader asylum.

Añez, the Senate second vice-president, was first in the line of succession, after Senate first Vice-president Rubén Medinaceli also resigned, and on November 12 declared herself president. She said that the country would have new elections as soon as possible and urged calm, as reports surfaced of violent acts committed by Morales supporters in the wake of their leader's departure. The military stood behind her, stepping in to head off violent protests from Morales supporters. Adding to the confusion, lawmakers who belong to the Emboldened Movement for Socialism sought to use their two-thirds majority membership in parliament to pass resolutions declaring the departure of Morales and the elevation of Añez as unwarranted and illegal.