The border between Ecuador and Colombia will be closed for 70 hours

Ecuadornews:

The passage through the International Bridge of Rumichaca, which connects Ecuador and Colombia, will be closed from 6:00 pm on Thursday March 8 until 4:00 pm on Sunday 11. That is a provision of the Ministry of Interior of the neighboring country that orders the closing of the terrestrial and fluvial passes, authorized of border, by the electoral process to elect the representatives to the Congress of the Republic.

The elections will be next Sunday. The measure includes the bridge over the San Miguel River, which connects Sucumbíos and the Colombian department of Putumayo. The closing of the border, which has been usual in the elections in Colombia, this time will last 70 hours.

In the previous processes were maximum of 22 hours. The ministerial decree, which includes 24 articles of different kinds, also provides for the closure of immigration controls at border posts. Therefore, the entry or exit of people and vehicles through the border viaducts, which links Ecuadorian and Colombian populations, will not be allowed.

The order will be monitored by military and police personnel from the coffee country. The Consulate of Ecuador in Ipiales, Colombia, recommends that compatriots take precautions to avoid inconveniences while the measure lasts.

Meanwhile, Colombian citizens residing in Ecuador pay at the consulates of Tulcán, Quito, Guayaquil, Santo Domingo, Esmeraldas and Nueva Loja, where polling stations have been set up. The process began on March 5 and will run until the day of the elections. In the capital of Carchi a total of 1683 voters have been registered. (I)

Source: http://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/frontera-ecuador-colombia-cierre-elecciones.html