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.

Early results showed Bolivia's centrist Rodrigo Paz in a surprise lead in Sunday's presidential race, with a likely second round needed against conservative former president Jorge Quiroga.View on euro

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

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

Now, on October 19, Bolivians will hold presidential runoff for the first time—an option only introduced in the 2009 Constitution. As voters prepare to pick their next president, AS/COA online looks at dark horse candidate Paz, the collapse of MAS, and the composition of the next national legislature.

Rodrigo Paz, who had trailed in the polls, won the first round of the presidential election on Sunday, as decades of dominance by a leftist party neared an end.

Otro hubiera desistido después de tres intentos fallidos, él no. El millonario Samuel Doria Medina dice estar convencido de

Bolivians were headed for an unprecedented runoff presidential election following a vote Sunday in which a dark horse centrist, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, drew more votes than the right-wing front-runners, although not enough to secure an outright victory,

LA PAZ (Reuters) -Bolivian presidential candidate Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga said he would dole out ownership stakes in key natural resources like lithium if elected in October as part of sweeping economic reforms, and signalled a willingness to improve ties with the United States.