2024-09-21 00:08:01
QUITO (AP) — Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa submitted to the Constitutional Court on Friday a draft reform of parts of the constitution that would allow the state to stop funding political organizations and electoral propaganda. If approved, the reform will not be implemented in the 2025 presidential election.
According to the Presidential Communications Secretariat, the purpose of the proposal is to avoid “the misuse of public resources awarded to candidates without historically appropriate justification or transparency.” It also recommends that these funds be allocated to health, education and safety.
The son of one of the country’s richest businessmen, Noboa was a political unknown until he won a legislative seat in 2021. He proposed the proposal months before the February 2025 election in which he will seek re-election.
For these elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE) allocated $13.76 million for the promotion of Ecuador’s presidential and vice-presidential candidates, who are chosen according to the presidential formula.
The money is allocated directly by the CNE to media outlets that run advertisements and adverts during the campaign, without passing through the hands of the political parties.
In addition, the state has an annual political party fund of $4 to $5 million that is allocated to political movements and parties across the country.
Organizations that receive these funds must meet a series of requirements, such as endorsing a minimum number of supporters, retaining representatives nationally or provincially (depending on whether they are national or local) and achieving at least 4 per cent of the vote. In elections, etc.
The statement did not provide details of the document sent to the Constitutional Court, the contents of which have not yet been made public, saying only that “the proposal ensures that debate between candidates is encouraged in a fair and equal manner”, despite the fact that the current Legislation already regulates this debate and will be mandatory from 2021.
If the Constitutional Court approves the reform of Articles 110 and 115 of the Constitution, which has been in force since 2008, the proposal will be submitted to the National Assembly, which must decide to approve or reject it in two plenary sessions – by a majority vote of at least 137 members 92 members of the Legislative Council – Finally, the reform will be put to a referendum, where citizens will vote for or against it.
If approved, the reforms would not apply to the 2025 presidential election, but to the 2029 presidential election.
Constitutional lawyer Ramiro Aguilar said in a statement to The Associated Press that the proposal “is necessary to stop the waste of public resources under the pretext of democracy,” and would also end if such state funding were eliminated. Corruption surrounding party funding”. ,” he added.
But there are also voices supporting maintaining state funding for political organizations, such as Omar Simon, the former head of the National Electoral Commission, who told The Associated Press that the current law was born out of the concept of “democratizing participation.” Out of necessity, “political participation is not just for those with money.”
The risk, he added, is that without such a mechanism, “money from illicit sources could end up being used as a financing activity.”
The new proposal from the executive branch complements one submitted by Noboa to the constitutional body on Monday, requesting authorization to establish foreign military bases on Ecuadorian territory or to hand over Ecuadorian military bases to foreigners, citing the need to combat transnational crime.
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