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Bolivia: UN special envoy on visit to meet officials ahead of December elections

Bolivia: UN special envoy on visit to meet officials ahead of December elections

Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Envoy to Bolivia will travel to the country tomorrow to assess the current situation and the ways that the United Nations can support the country.

José Antonio Ocampo, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, will meet with President Eduardo Rodríguez Veltzé, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. He will also meet with presidential candidates for Bolivia's upcoming 30 December elections.

The elections are the result of a decision made this July by Bolivia's Parliament to hold presidential, vice-presidential, parliamentary and prefecto (regional gubernatorial) elections in December. The decision came after civil unrest and growing political opposition had caused the resignation of then-President Carlos Mesa.

While attending the UN World Summit this September, President Rodríguez said that after the political crisis in his country, achieving the Millennium targets, among them halving poverty by 2015, would require creativity, new policy ideas and resources to respond to the inequalities that now exist.

He also highlighted the need to fight drug trafficking and stimulate the cultivation of alternative crops.