In an interview with the local channel Teleamazonas, the observer stated they are awaiting the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the National Electoral Council’s (CNE) resolution regarding the taking of photos of ballots and the use of electronic devices.
For de Gabriel, “it is essential that the full right of party delegates to document all elements of the electoral process with their cell phones be safeguarded.”
The representative of the EU group emphasized that the Ecuadorian electoral system “is transparent” and that parties have access to information; however, he questioned the fact that the CNE has made decisions “halfway.”
“Some rules have been changed that satisfy one side of the race, but not the other,” he declared regarding the measure banning cell phones and photos, a decision requested by presidential candidate Daniel Noboa, one of the political actors.
He commented that while such measures exist in other countries, they were adopted by law, and this is not the case in Ecuador.
In his opinion, “given that the first round was virtually a tie, it will be very important to have transparency measures in place and to facilitate electoral oversight by political parties.”
He also noted that “the facts on which the (CNE) resolution is based were not the subject of complaints or claims on election day.”
This Monday, Guillermo Ortega, Judge of the Electoral Contentious Tribunal (TCE), asked the Constitutional Court for a ruling on the CNE resolution prohibiting the taking of photos of ballots and the use of cell phones by members of the polling stations during the vote count.
The proposal to ban the use of electronic devices came from Chief Executive and reelection candidate Daniel Noboa. In an interview, he said that voters for his rival, Luisa González of the Citizens’ Revolution (RC), voted under threats from criminal groups, although he did not provide evidence.
On Sunday, April 13, more than 13.4 million Ecuadorians are called to the polls to choose a president between Noboa and González, who propose two politically, economically, and socially antagonistic projects.
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