Bolivian police units in three cities joined protesters against the results of the last presidential election, while President Ivor Morales called the move a coup and rejected the opposition's demand for him to resign.

In the central city of Cochabamba, 18 police officers joined the protesters and held up a banner accusing Morales of rigging the presidential election on the 20th of last month.

In the city of Sana Cruz, a stronghold of the opposition, a police officer posted a sign on their headquarters saying they were in disobedience, while other cities witnessed the withdrawal of security personnel from the streets, which have been fighting since 17 days.

Bolivian police chief Yuri Calderon downplayed the size of the police rebellion in Cochabamba and promised an isolated incident.

Bolivian Defense Minister Javier Zabaleta spoke of a limited insurgency in a few cities, and stressed that for the time being the army would not be used against police rebels.

Simultaneously, Morales called on top security and military leaders for an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in light of the rebellion of some police units.

coup
After the emergency security meeting, the president warned his state that democracy in Bolivia is facing what he called a coup by violent groups that violate the constitutional order. "We condemn this attack on the rule of law before the international community," he said.

Morales addresses speech in support of march in La Paz (European)

Two weeks ago, Bolivia went into turmoil after the election commission announced Morales, the first indigenous president to rule the country since 2006, won more than 10 percentage points in the first round, allowing him to win a fourth term.

Since then there have been several street clashes in Bolivia that have so far killed three people and injured more than 300. Demonstrations against and against Morales have been taking place almost daily.

Morales agreed that a committee of the Organization of American States (OAS) would scrutinize the course of the presidential ballot, which the opposition says was rigged, a charge denied by the outgoing president who faced two candidates, most notably Carlos Mesa (center-right) and liberal Senator Oscar Ortiz.

The Audit Committee is expected to announce its report on the voting process on Monday or Tuesday, but the opposition in Bolivia has said it will not accept the conclusion of the report because it was not consulted in the whole process.

Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Court said the elections were held normally, with minor incidents reported.

Morales was nominated for a third time by the Constitutional Court, while the constitution limits presidential terms to two. Morales turned to the Constitutional Court after Bolivians refused in a 2016 referendum to extend presidential terms.

During his 13 years in office, President Morales achieved good economic results, especially by exploiting gas revenues for development.