(Photo: AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The former president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, said on Friday that the rejection of his senatorial candidacy by Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) was an "attack on democracy."

"We complied with all the requirements. Afterwards, two former members of the electoral agency informed me that, by instruction of the United States embassy, they did not approve the legality (of the candidacy)," Morales said at a press conference in Buenos Aires.

"They forced me not to be a candidate in these elections. I have accepted it; I am not a candidate. I accept it all for Bolivia," he said.

Morales said that the rejection of his candidacy for the Cochabamba department's senatorial seat "is an attack on democracy. They don't want Evo to return to Bolivia. It's an instruction of the United States."

Bolivia's electoral tribunal said on Thursday that Morales did not fulfill the residency requirements necessary to be considered for senator candidacy for the Cochabamba department in the general elections slated for May 3.

The Bolivian constitution requires that candidates for the Plurinational Legislative Assembly have residency in their jurisdictions for at least two years prior to elections.

Evo Morales has been residing outside of Bolivia since last November, first going to Mexico, then Cuba, and finally to Argentina, where he claimed political asylum on Dec. 12.