Voters in Bolivia rejected socialist candidates for the first time in over 20 years in their presidential election Sunday.
Bolivia’s former president Evo Morales and his Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS party, dominated politics since his first election in 2005. But the Latin American country signaled a shift to the right Sunday, according to an unofficial early count.
Centrist Senator Rodrigo Paz and right-wing former president Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga won the most votes, and the election will now proceed to a runoff.
“Bolivia is not only calling for a change of government, it is also calling for a change to the political system,” Paz said, according to the Washington Post. “This is the beginning of a great victory and a great transformation.”
Paz, a former mayor, is the son of former Bolivian president Jaime Paz Zamora, who served between 1989 and 1993.
Quiroga was the president for a short time between 2001 and 2002. He was strongly opposed to Morales and his party.
Two leftist candidates appeared to come in fourth and sixth place out of 12 candidates. The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished sixth with just 3.2% of the vote.
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The voting shift comes as the country faces its worst economic crisis in over 40 years. Inflation has soared to 25% as of last month.
Bolivia will hold the presidential runoff on Oct. 19. It will be the first runoff election since the country’s return to a democratic government in 1982.