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A referendum to approve the autonomy statute of Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia was held on 4 May 2008. The vote resulted from strains between the Prefecture of Santa Cruz and President Evo Morales. The referendum was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the National Electoral Court.[1][2][3] Final results from the referendum showed that 85.6% of participating voters supported autonomy.[4] Abstention rates were 37.9%.[5] Partisans of the Movement for Socialism called for a boycott of the vote,[citation needed] and the Guarayo, Guaraní, Chiquitano, Ayoreo, Yuracaré-Moxeño indigenous peoples were urged to reject holding the vote in their territories.[6]
Similar referendums were held in Beni Department and Pando Department on 1 June 2008 (see 2008 Bolivian autonomy referendums) and in Tarija Department on 22 June 2008 (see 2008 Tarija autonomy referendum).[7]