The year 1989 marked a nadir in Bolivia’s experience with democracy. During national elections that year, vote fraud was so widespread and flagrant that the Catholic Church joined dozens of civic groups in demanding a radical reform of the electoral system.

The crisis led to an unprecedented summit in which the nation’s political parties agreed to relinquish control of the existing electoral system, name an independent Electoral Court, and begin drafting laws governing elections and the internal affairs of political parties. The cornerstone of the agreement was a decision that the new court would be composed of five individuals of unquestioned integrity who were not affiliated with any political party. For good measure, each candidate would need the endorsement of two-thirds of the congressional representatives.

This last provision was crucial, because everyone knew that no single party, or even a ruling-party coalition, could gain a two-thirds majority in Bolivia’s highly fragmented political landscape. The agreement meant, in effect, that every candidate for the country’s Electoral Court would need the support of both the governing and opposition parties—an unthinkable scenario until then.

The new rule had a remarkable impact. “Today the Electoral Court is, without a doubt, the most prestigious and legitimate institution in Bolivia,” says Carlos Toranzo, a political scientist based in La Paz. Political meddling in vote counts and related kinds of fraud have virtually disappeared in recent elections, according to Toranzo, and voter turnout has risen as people have become more confident that their vote will be respected.

Indeed, the credibility of the new Electoral Court was established so quickly that Bolivia’s legislature subsequently passed a “Two-Thirds Law” that requires the same majority for ratification of appointments to all of Bolivia’s public agencies and institutions, including the Supreme Court.

See the upcoming issue of IDBAmérica for more on how this Andean nation is working to transform its politics.

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