Top electoral court suspends Bolivia's referendum

LA PAZ (Reuters) - Bolivia's top electoral court on Friday suspended a planned nationwide referendum on a draft constitution that President Evo Morales says will give more power to the country's poor indigenous majority.

The new charter, a key Morales project, has been the focus of months of political tensions between the leftist leader and his conservative rivals.

Last week, lawmakers from Morales' Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party in Congress approved a May 4 referendum on the proposed charter with little participation by the opposition, many of whom were prevented from entering the building by Morales supporters.

The proposed constitution has led to protests from four provinces seeking more autonomy from the central government. The draft charter was approved last year in a constitutional assembly amid violent protests and an opposition boycott.

Jose Luis Exeni, the head of Bolivia's National Electoral Court, said the body ruled the national vote on the new constitution cannot be held.

"No technical, operative, legal or political conditions exist to allow it to go forward," he said.

Exeni said the referendum on the charter failed to meet a constitutional requirement it be held at least 90 days after congressional approval.

The court's decision came after four days of deliberations by national and regional electoral officials in the eastern city of Cochabamba.

The congressional vote authorizing the referendum followed two months of tense talks between Morales, the country's first indigenous president, and his rightist rivals, who refuse to recognize the proposed charter.

If approved, the new constitution would grant greater power and resources to indigenous groups who form the backbone of Morales' support and have long been marginalized by the country's European-descended elite.

But opposition leaders say the charter is illegal since it was approved in a constitutional assembly without their supporters' participation.

(Reporting by Carlos Quiroga; Writing by Kevin Gray; editing by Todd Eastham)