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The country could hold early legislative and presidential elections on August 20, the Ecuadorian National Electoral Council (CNE) said on May 18, after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the Assembly in the midst of a political trial against him. Meanwhile, the Constitutional Court must rule on whether or not the measure is viable. If it were blocked, the Legislature would continue to function and the call for elections would be cancelled. If he gives his green light, the nation must go to the polls.
Ecuador is experiencing moments of political tension, after President Guillermo Lasso invoked the Constitutional resource known as ‘cross death’ to dissolve a Parliament that was about to vote on a political trial against him.
In the last few hours, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Diana Atamaint, announced Sunday, August 20, as the tentative date for holding early general elections, as dictated by the application of the constitutional mechanism that Lasso opted for one day before. .
However, the possible date to go to the polls must still be ratified by the plenary of the electoral body.
For the CNE “it is an enormous challenge as soon as everything is contracted in the times provided for in the Constitution and the law,” Atamaint stressed, recalling that a normal electoral process is prepared one year in advance, but now they must do so in ninety days for the first round.
Constitutional Court must evaluate the claim of “unconstitutionality” against the dissolution of the Assembly
A group of former legislators, headed by Esteban Torres, from the Social Christian Party (PSC), filed a claim of “unconstitutionality” against decree 741 signed by the president before the nation’s Constitutional Court.
That court has already selected by lottery the judges who must study the lawsuit. It’s about the Judges Pablo Herrería Bonnet and Jhoel Escudero Soliz.
Although it is still uncertain when the country will know the decision of the Constitutional Court, Virgilio Saquicela, former president of the dissolved Assembly, demanded “an immediate pronouncement.”
“We demand that the Constitutional Court act, they are the guarantors of the Constitution, they are the ones that have to resolve (the situation),” said Saquicela, who had been elected to the post just last week. The former legislator assured that Lasso had “manipulated” the Magna Carta of the country.
The “cross death” appeal, established by decree 741 signed by the president, dissolved the National Assembly and determines that the Electoral Tribunal has a period of seven days to call general elections, which must be held within a maximum period of 90 days.
But the president’s decision has divided the country between those who believe that Lasso acted constitutionally and those who believe that he did not. Sectors such as the Army and the Police have been in favor of the president.
Nelson Proaño, commander of the Armed Forces, assured that the decision was enshrined in the Constitution and assured that both institutions “will maintain their absolute respect” for the Magna Carta.
Another sector that also assured that the president acted within the law was the business sector, close to Lasso, who before ruling the country was a banker and businessman. The Business Committee of Ecuador, of which most of the national industrial associations are a part, maintained that the dissolution of the Legislature is viable according to the country’s regulations and called for calm.
However, other groups denounce that it is an unconstitutional process. Among them, the ex-assembly members who filed the lawsuit before the Constitutional Court.
Could the ‘cross death’ invoked by Lasso be considered unconstitutional?
The debate has occupied a central place in the national press since the president’s decision on Wednesday, May 17.
If the Constitutional Court determines that the decree is illegal, the Assembly will be restored and will continue its functions. However, if the Court considers that the action carried out by Lasso was legal, Congress will remain dissolved and the country will have to hold elections within 90 days.
However, time plays a central role in the situation that Ecuador is experiencing, since the process can take several years, several analysts quoted by the local press highlight. The evaluation of the demand could end not only after the elections, but also after the term of the president who emerged after the elections, who would rule until 2025, when the next elections must be held.
In the midst of this panorama, the former legislators who filed the lawsuit are pressing for a prompt resolution.
The president’s decision and the impeachment trial that preceded it leave the country in a convulsive situation. Another group that also did not look kindly on the decision of the first conservative president in almost two decades was CONAIE, the most powerful indigenous organization at the national level. Its president, Leonidas Iza, assured that the path taken by Lasso was “dictatorial.”
Iza led a series of protests last year that shook Ecuador and made the administration of the head of state stagger. For the moment, the indigenous organization has not summoned its supporters to the streets again, but, according to Iza, CONAIE called its members to meet to study how the ‘cross death’ decreed in Quito affects this movement.
With Reuters and local media
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