Ecuador’s National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on Thursday that August 20 is the tentative date for holding early general elections, after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly, which will vote on a political trial against him.
The President of the CNE, Diana Atamante, announced the date in correspondence with the application of the mechanism of “cross death” by the President of Ecuador.
However, the title indicated that the official dates of the election must be approved by the plenary session of the CNE, which has until the next 24 to announce the final calendar.
At the same time, the ataman pointed out that in the event of a possible second round, it should not wait long, which is why it is believed that it should be held next October.
In turn, he indicated that the electoral rolls for the sectional elections would be used for these elections, while assuring that the expected milestones for the electoral and pre-electoral process would not be violated.
Likewise, he specified that the electoral campaign should last fifteen days, meanwhile, he recalled that the CNE could coincide with other processes such as the Choco Andino consultation and the Yasunà national consultation.
In line with recent reforms to the Democracy Code, the CNE will become the supreme authority in the country when elections are called.
Similarly, the norm establishes that no third authority “may interfere directly or indirectly in the development of electoral processes or in the operation of its electoral bodies.”
From this, the Constitutional Court would have limitations in ruling on Cross’s death sentence after he had appeared before Parliament to give his defense statement before being charged with an alleged crime of embezzlement, which Lasso had resorted to.
