Bolivia’s president Evo Morales has agreed to call new elections after a damning report from monitors found serious irregularities in last month’s vote, which was won by the leftist leader.

Police forces were seen joining huge protests sweeping the country in the wake of the Organisation of American States (OAS) report, while military chiefs said troops would not “confront the people” over the issue.

Issued earlier on Sunday, the report said the October vote should be annulled after it had found “clear manipulations” of the voting system that meant it could not verify the result.

Mr Morales, speaking at a press conference in La Paz, also said he would replace the country’s electoral body. The department has come under heavy criticism after an unexplained halt to the vote count sparked widespread allegations of fraud and prompted the OAS audit.

The president, who came to power in 2006 as Bolivia’s first indigenous leader, has defended his election win but had said he would adhere to the findings of the OAS audit.

“The manipulations to the computer systems are of such magnitude that they must be deeply investigated by the Bolivian state to get to the bottom of and assign responsibility in this serious case,” the preliminary OAS report said.

“The first round of the elections held on October 20 must be annulled and the electoral process must begin again,” the OAS added in a separate statement.

Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Show all 15 1 /15 Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests People protest against Bolivia's President Evo Morales in La Paz Reuters Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Police officers standing on the rooftop of a security booth at a police station wave Bolivian flags AP Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Protesters cheer at police officers Reuters Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Supporters of President Evo Morales clash with a bus caravan that was heading to La Paz to march against the government EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests A police officer waves a national flag on top of a police station during a protest against Bolivia's President Reuters Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Police officers, who have joined a rebellion, take part in a march to protest against the government AFP via Getty Images Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Demonstrators with makeshift shields protest against President Evo Morales AP Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Police officers, who have joined a rebellion, take part in a march AFP via Getty Images Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests A wounded person who was heading to La Paz to join a march against the president EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Citizens cheer the bus caravan that was attacked while heading to La Paz in support of marches EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests epaselect epa07984177 Policemen wave the tricolor flag of Bolivia while they retreat to a police station in the city of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, 09 November 2019. Several Bolivian Police units have mutinied in various parts of the country in disagreement with the actions of President Evo Morales over the crisis that Bolivia is going through since the last elections, as he defends his victory at the polls against the allegations of fraud from opposition and civic committees who do not recognize the president's victory for a fourth consecutive period, and demand his resignation and that new elections be called. EPA/Juan Carlos TorrejÃ³n Juan Carlos Torrejón EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests A motorcycle on fire on a road leading to La Paz, EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests Anti-government protesters against the reelection of President Evo Morales gather just meters away from the presidential palace AP Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests A person is treated EPA Police abandon posts to join Bolivia protests epa07985138 Citizens cheer the bus caravan that was attacked while heading to La Paz in support of marches against the President of Bolivia Evo Morales, as it returns to Oruro, Bolivia, 09 November 2019. A caravan of buses that was heading to La Paz in support of marches against the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, was attacked on a highway in the Andean area, in an incident in which an undetermined number of wounded. The buses came from the regions of Potosi and Chuquisaca, in the west and south of the country, and suffered an attack after leaving for La Paz in the morning after stopping at night in the Andean city of Oruro. EPA/EMILIO CASTILLO EMILIO CASTILLO EPA

Voting should take place as soon as conditions are in place to guarantee it being able to go ahead, including a newly composed electoral body, the OAS said.

The OAS added that it was statistically “unlikely” that Mr Morales had secured the 10 percentage point margin of victory needed to win outright.

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales addresses the media (Reuters)

In an outright win that had allowed Mr Morales to avoid a riskier second round run-off, he was declared the winner of the election with a lead of just over 10 points over his rival Carlos Mesa.

The protests erupted afterward, particularly because of a nearly 24-hour halt during the vote count.