Bolivia's National Electoral Council (CNE) said Friday it had decided to delay a general election scheduled for Dec. 4 because the country's congress had not agreed about the distribution of parliamentary seats.

The CNE had asked Congress to give an answer on seat allocations four weeks ago, after Bolivia's Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the 2001 census should serve to set constituency boundaries.

The rule would add four representatives to Santa Cruz in the east and two deputies to Cochabamba in the centre, while La Paz, Oruro and Potozi would lose six seats altogether.

Provinces set to gain seats, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, want the court ruling to be implemented, while the provinces set to lose seats want to wait until the 2011 elections.

Interim president Eduardo Rodriguez proposed an emergency decree assigning two more deputies to Santa Cruz and removing one each from Oruro and Potosi.

But Santa Cruz leaders responded with calls for independence, walking out of the Congressional building and refusing to return until their demands are met.

Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, has seen two presidents resign in the past two years due to street protests.

Rodriguez is contractually obligated to step down in 2006, even if elections are not held.

Source: Xinhua