Bolivia’s presidential vote is headed to an unprecedented runoff after Sunday's election ended over two decades of ruling party dominance in the Andean nation.

A centrist lawmaker from a prominent political family, Sen. Rodrigo Paz, and a right-wing former president, Jorge “Tuto” Quiroga, will face off in October after a first round of voting knocked out candidates allied with the nation’s long-dominant Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party.

Paz, a former mayor, campaigned with the slogan “Capitalism for all” — rejecting the statist policies of MAS while pitching a more inclusive approach to rescuing Bolivia from its worst economic crisis in four decades.

He has promised to lower tariffs, reduce taxes and make small loans more accessible for entrepreneurs.

Paz had been trailing in opinion polls for weeks. But he gained unexpected traction as he teamed up with Edman Lara, a social media savvy ex-police captain with evangelical backing who was fired for denouncing corruption in the security services.

Paz secured a lead over Quiroga with over 32% of the votes cast. Quiroga received just over 26%.

Candidates needed to surpass 50%, or 40% with a 10-point margin of victory, to avoid a runoff.

The results delivered a blow to Bolivia’s hegemonic MAS party, which has governed almost uninterrupted since its founder, charismatic ex-President Evo Morales, rose to power as part of the “pink tide” of leaders who swept into office across Latin America during the commodities boom of the early 2000s.

Bolivia faces a return to belt-tightening. After years of alignment with world powers like China and Russia, it seems set to reconcile with the United States.

The official MAS candidate, Eduardo del Castillo, finished sixth with 3.2% of the vote.

A candidate considered to be the party’s best hope, 36-year-old Senate president Andrónico Rodríguez, captured 8% of the vote.

Bolivia holds the presidential runoff — its first since its 1982 return to democracy — on October 19.

AP video shot by: Victor R. Caivano, Carlos Guerrero, Alejandro Mamani and Gabriel Koya