2023-08-20 17:10:15
The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador, Diana Atamaint, encouraged Ecuadorians this Sunday to go to vote in the extraordinary general elections to, in this way, condemn the violence and ratify their commitment to democracy.
When inaugurating election day, marked by the assassination on August 9 of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Atamaint pointed out that “the moment the country is experiencing demands that citizens, political institutions and the State and the public force close ranks to fight without fear of the few violent who want to plunge the country into despair”.
“Those of us who believe in the Rule of Law, the answer must be democracy, democracy and more democracy. I invite you to vote with optimism and with the confidence that the Armed Forces, the National Police and the CNE have put in place to guarantee peaceful and safe elections through a security plan”, Atamaint pointed out.
The CNE president also ratified the decision taken by the government and by the electoral authorities not to postpone the elections following the murder of Villavicencio, riddled with shots by alleged Colombian hitmen as he left an electoral rally in Quito.
“Despite the events that have occurred in these weeks that cause pain and mourn the democracy of the country, it is necessary to specify that the non-execution of the elections might represent their annulment. These violent acts will not stop us, because we all defend peace and democracy,” explained Atamaint.
“May the exercise of our rights be our best defense once morest those who seek to take away our peace and sow fear through violence. May each one’s vote be a symbol of peaceful coexistence, progress and rationality”, he wished.
The head of the electoral body also thanked the support of more than 53,000 members of the National Police deployed on the occasion of the elections, to which will be added a significant contingent of the Armed Forces under the state of emergency declared by the Government following the murder. from Villavicencio.
He also highlighted the presence in these elections of 2,366 electoral observers, of which 2,026 are national and 340 international, including missions from organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU).
The president of Ecuador, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, recalled that this electoral process is unprecedented, as it responds to the “cross death”, the constitutional mechanism that he invoked last May to dissolve the National Assembly (Parliament), with an opposition majority, when He was preparing to vote for his dismissal as the last step in a political trial where he had been accused of alleged embezzlement (embezzlement).
The president, who is not running for re-election, assured that he made that decision “to put an end to an irrational obstruction by some political sectors that had plunged the country into a deep crisis.”
“Just as the power to govern was given to me by the people, I decided to give power back to the people so that with their vote they make possible the new changes that Ecuador needs,” Lasso said.
“Today, precisely, Ecuador is facing a new democratic challenge: to choose freely and consciously who will be its new rulers. The vote is a fundamental tool to stop the advance of authoritarian projects that put the stability of the country at risk and to strengthen the development and prosperity of Ecuadorian families,” she added.
More than 13.4 million Ecuadorians are summoned to vote in these elections to elect a new president and the 137 new members of the Assembly for the period 2021-2025.
The elections take place under the worst security crisis in the country, caused according to the authorities by organized crime, mainly dedicated to drug trafficking, which has caused the country to go from 5.8 to 25.32 intentional homicides per 100,000 in five years. inhabitants in 2022, the highest number in its history.
With information from Efe
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