(Bloomberg) -- Political unrest intensified in Bolivia after last month’s elections as President Evo Morales denounced what he said was a coup attempt and called for calm in the country.

Morales asked Bolivians to “peacefully restore democracy” after police officials joined opposition protests on Friday to contest the legitimacy of his Oct. 20 election victory.

“Our democracy is at risk due to a coup d’etat that violent groups have launched and undermines the constitutional order,” Morales said in a Twitter post.

Police officials in Cochabamba, Chuquisaca, Beni, Santa Cruz, Potosi and Oruro joined protests challenging the results of the election, saying they wouldn’t act against the population that have led a 20-day confrontation in the streets, according to the newspaper La Razon.

Carlos Romero, Bolivia’s minister of government affairs, said he was confident a dialog with police officials would appease them, according to the newspaper.

At least two people have died in demonstrations over the results of the vote in which Morales secured a fourth presidential term. Opponents argue votes were falsified and are pressing for a second round of elections.

Morales has said he’ll respect the results of an election audit by the Organization of American States if it proves evidence of fraud.

To contact the reporter on this story: Fabiola Zerpa in Caracas Office at fzerpa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Patricia Laya at playa2@bloomberg.net, Linus Chua, Virginia Van Natta

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