Issue Watch
Track global public opinion on current issues.
- 2008: Race for the White House
- 2008: The U.S. Electoral College
- Abortion
- Africa
- Angela Merkel
- Death Penalty
- Economy and Globalization
- Environment
- European Union
- George W. Bush
- Global Warming
- Gordon Brown
- Hamas
- Immigration
- Iran
- Iraq War
- Israel Election 2009
- Kevin Rudd
- Latin America
- Nicolas Sarkozy
- North Korea
- Oil and Gas
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Silvio Berlusconi
- Stem Cell Research
- Stephen Harper
- Taro Aso
- Terrorism
- Vladimir Putin
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Election Tracker
New constitution leads to election
Credit:T.F. Mills (FOTW Flags Of The World website at flagspot.net)
Election Date: April 19, 2009
At stake: President, National CongressBackground
Ecuador became fully independent in 1830, after leaving the Republic of the Great Colombia, which also encompassed Colombia, Panama and Venezuela. In the 1940s, the country waged a war with Peru over the province of El Oro, and prospered later due to the growth in banana trade.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Ecuador promulgated two different constitutions, withstood two military governments and the return of former president José María Velasco. In the 1980s, the Ecuadorian economy suffered greatly due to a drop in oil prices.
Over the past decade or so, three presidents have been ousted. Abdalá Bucaram—who called himself "the madman" and often sang during campaign rallies—was elected in 1996. Six months after taking office, Bucaram was declared "mentally incapable" and deposed by the National Congress. He left Ecuador and took up residence in Panama.
Jamil Mahuad was overthrown after 18 months on the job in a January 2000 coup orchestrated by Lucio Gutiérrez, army officers and Indian groups. Mahuad had implemented the U.S. dollar as the national currency. He was accused of freezing savings deposits, but never faced any charges. Gustavo Noboa ruled Ecuador from 2000 to 2003, and was subject to an investigation regarding the improper use of $126 million U.S. in bonds, originally earmarked to aid the country’s state-administered banks.
In 2002, Gutiérrez became a presidential candidate, campaigning on a tough anti-corruption agenda. The former general was elected in November 2002, garnering 58.7 per cent of the vote in a run-off over Álvaro Noboa.
In the early days of his presidency, Gutiérrez lost the support of the Confederation of Indian Nations (CONAIE) and faced an investigation into purported illegal contributions by Mexico’s Workers Party (PT) to his campaign fund. Ecuador is home to 4 million Indians, who make up about a third of the country’s population.
In December 2004, the National Congress dismissed 27 of the country’s 31 Supreme Court justices. Gutiérrez had accused some judges of favouring political opponents who sought to impeach him. The new tribunal threw out pending charges of corruption and mishandling of funds against former presidents Bucaram and Noboa.
Public protests intensified following the Supreme Court’s decision. In mid-April 2005, Gutiérrez instituted a 24-hour state of emergency. On Apr. 20, the National Congress voted to oust the head of state and replace him with vice-president Alfredo Palacio.
Palacio—a cardiologist—had previously acted as Ecuador’s minister of health and is not directly affiliated with any political party. In 2005, Ecuador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) suspended Gutiérrez from holding any political office for two years.
Palacio repeatedly called for a plebiscite on constitutional reform, claiming the country’s political system required an overhaul to become more stable, but the legislative branch never supported his idea.
The October 2006 presidential election featured a run-off vote between businessman Álvaro Noboa of the Institutional Renewal Party of National Action (PRIAN) and Rafael Correa of Alliance Country (AP), with support of the confederation of indigenous peoples. Ecuadoreans later chose Correa, an economist educated in the United States who vowed to end the "olygarchic system" of Ecuador, as their new president with 56.67 per cent of the vote.
Correa was sworn in on Jan. 15, 2007. In his inauguration speech, Correa expressed his support for changing existing legislation, declaring, "The historical moment of the nation and the whole continent demands a new constitution that prepares the country for the 21st century."
Click Here for Ecuador’s 2006 Presidential Election Tracker
Correa’s party nominated no candidates to the National Congress. The president dismantled the legislature in order to allow for a special assembly to re-write the country’s constitution.
In April 2007, Ecuadorian citizens participated in a referendum to enact a Constituent Assembly. The president’s proposal was backed by 82 per cent of all voters.
In September, Correa’s supporters—running under the Movement Country (MP) banner—secured 80 seats in the 130-member Constituent Assembly, enough to enact changes without seeking compromises with political opponents. In November, Ecuador’s Constituent Assembly officially began its work, and suspended the National Congress.
On Jul. 18, 2008, a full constitutional draft was approved by the pro-government majority in the Constituent Assembly. Opposition members had stopped working on the document a week before in protest over its contents.
On Sept. 28, 2008, the new constitution was ratified by voters in a referendum with 64 per cent of the vote. The new body of law allows for one consecutive presidential re-election. It also allowed presidents to dissolve Congress and call for early elections.
The new constitution grants more power to the state over the economy. It also guarantees universal health care and free education up to the third year of college, as well as "a dignified and adequate home, independent of one’s social and economic situation." These provisions are in line with the so-called "21st century socialism" pushed by Correa. Indian languages Quichua and Shuar also join Spanish as Ecuador’s official languages.
On Oct. 20, the new Constitution came into full effect. The Constituent Assembly that drafted the new constitution called for legislative and presidential elections in February 2009. An appointed 75-member legislature will work on a transitional basis until the ballot. Correa has announced he will seek re-election.
2009 Legislative and Presidential Elections
Current president Rafael Correa will run for re-election in the vote tentatively scheduled for Feb. 22 vote with the Alliance Country (AP) party. Correa’s term was supposed to end in 2011 but the new constitution enacted in October 2008 effectively annuls this period. As such, Correa will be allowed to run for office in 2009, and—if he chooses—for a second term in office in 2013.
On Nov. 6, Correa referred to the victory of Democratic nominee Barack Obama in the Nov. 4 presidential election in the United States, saying, "I think that American foreign policy will now be more reasonable, more humane, and less imperialist."
On Nov. 7, AP officials announced that current vice-president Lenin Moreno will remain as Correa’s running mate.
In November, Hugo Arias, coordinator of the Special Commission for Foreign Debt Audit, said that “indications of illegality” in the debt contracts and negotiation processes were found. Arias raised speculation that Ecuador will default on up to $10.2 billion U.S. of external sovereign debt, saying that it is “a giant and unpayable monster.”
In December, Ecuador defaulted on two debt interest payments worth more than $60 million U.S. Correa stated that his government would present a proposal to “acknowledge” some of that debt, but at a “lower price.”
Political Players
President: Rafael Correa - AP
Vice-president: Lenin Moreno - AP
The president and vice-president are elected, on the same ticket, to a four-year term by popular vote.
Legislative Branch: The Congreso Nacional (National Congress) has 100 members, elected to four-year term in multi-seat provincial constituencies.
Results of Last Election:
President - Oct. 15 and Nov. 26, 2006
|
Oct. 15 |
Nov. 26 |
|
|
Rafael Correa - |
22.90% |
56.67% |
|
Álvaro Noboa - Institutional |
26.63% |
43.33% |
|
Gilmar Gutiérrez - |
17.59% |
-- |
|
León Roldós - |
14.91% |
-- |
|
Cynthia Viteri - |
9.62% |
-- |
|
Luis Macas - |
2.18% |
-- |
|
Fernando Rosero - |
2.01% |
-- |
|
Marco Proaño Maya - |
1.44% |
-- |
|
Luis Villacís - |
1.30% |
-- |
|
Jaime Damerval - |
0.47% |
-- |
|
Marcelo Larrea Cabrera - |
0.43% |
-- |
|
Lenin Torres - Revolutionary |
0.28% |
-- |
|
Carlos Sagnay de la Bastida - |
0.24% |
-- |
National Congress - Oct. 15 2006
|
Vote% |
Seats |
|
|
Institutional Renewal Party of National Action (PRIAN) |
27.8% |
28 |
|
Patriotic Society Party (PSP) |
18.6% |
23 |
|
Social Christian Party (PSC) |
15.3% |
13 |
|
Ethical and Democratic Network (RED) |
10.6% |
13 |
|
Ecuadorian Roldosist Party (PRE) |
7.7% |
6 |
|
Pluri-National Pachakutik United |
3.8% |
6 |
|
Christian Democratic Union (DUDC) |
2.6% |
5 |
|
Popular Democratic Movement (MPD) |
4.0% |
3 |
|
Citizens Movement New Country (MCNP) |
0.6% |
1 |
|
Regional Action for Equality (ARE) |
0.4% |
1 |
|
Overseas voters seat |
-- |
1 |
Archive Search
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Election Tracker archive.