Representatives of the MERCOSUR Parliament (PARLASUR) expressed concern about the decision by candidate and current president Daniel Noboa to declare a state of emergency in seven provinces 48 hours before the elections. In their report, they noted that the measure impacted the democratic environment and the right to participation, and therefore recommend reviewing national regulations regarding such decrees in electoral contexts.

PARLASUR also noted the existence of digital disinformation campaigns intended to interfere with the democratic process, with possible international funding, and suggested regulating the digital environment and social media during the elections.

In turn, the Electoral Observatory of the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPPAL) referred to the need to oversee the use of public resources for the sake of transparency.

Other international organizations submitted their observations and suggestions to the National Electoral Council (CNE) on the April 13th elections in Ecuador.

According to CNE data, Noboa won elections by more than 10% over Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution (RC) party. González described the incident as “the most grotesque fraud in the history of Ecuador” and announced that she will request a recount.

With 99.29 percent of the valid ballots counted, Noboa has 55.6 percent of the votes, compared to his rival’s 44.4 percent.

The RC asserted that the official results contradict scientific and statistical evidence, as at least a dozen independent surveys and internationally recognized models demonstrate the mathematical impossibility of the released data.

jrr/llp/rc/avr