After evaluation of the National Electoral Council, the model for electoral entity is questioned
Ecuadornews:
A National Electoral Council “illegally conformed”, without “citizen participation or transparency” are, among others, the conclusions of the evaluation report that recommended to cease its five members, and that open the debate on whether “failed” the model established by the Constitution of Montecristi to elect this maximum organism of the Electoral Function
Article 218 of the Political Charter establishes that the national electoral council will work with five main members and their substitutes, elected through public competitions organized by the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control.
Seven years after applying this methodology, the report signed by the transitory Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control states that the directors Nubia Villacís, Ana Marcela Paredes, Luz Haro, Paúl Salazar and Mauricio Tayupanta came to office in the middle of “irregular” proceedings, and “benefiting interests particular politicians “, in reference to the government of Rafael Correa.
Before the Constitution of Montecristi, this function was led by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which was composed of seven magistrates from the seven most voted political forces
Gilmar Gutiérrez, of the Patriotic Society, believes that this formula should be resumed in the future. “This guarantees more transparency. It must be a body represented by political organizations.” Affirms that the representative of each party or movement will ensure that the processes are not affected “and that will allow it to be transparent, because everyone will defend not be harmed, I am sure that this is the surest way to guarantee democracy.”
For the Coordinator of the “Veeduría por la Democracia” (seekers for democracy), César Ulloa, this “new architecture” to form the National Electoral Council allowed political planning to become the State. “When analyzing the origin of the councilors, it can be said that there was influence peddling: from the Executive they went to the transitory Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control then they went to the National Electoral Council, and from there to the Constitutional Court. The Constitution has to be reformed, because the model has endured, “he explains.
David Rosero was part of the first Council of Participation of the extreme ‘opponent’ to the official positions of the previous regime. He says that in processes of selection of authorities, among them National Electoral Council, the meritocracy was not met and the system “failed”. “The government of the time used meritocracy to kidnap institutionality, and that was what failed. The government hand in the contests, so that no one enters a different way of thinking. That was the mistake! ”
It aims for the transitory Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control to guarantee a transparent process. “That the folders be classified in a public way, this will guarantee transparency of the next elections”.
Today is the deadline for the five electoral councilors to present their appeal for review to the decision of the transitory Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control to cease them. This will know on Wednesday if these resources were submitted, and will ratify or not the decision. It is known that that day will call for the public contest to elect new counselors; and meanwhile will name transient replacements.
Postures
Carlos Aguinaga, ex-TSE
‘Model of Montecristi failed’
“The Montecristi model was intended to be an independent body, but it failed. The constitutional norms were not applied, nor has the Code of the Democracy, there has not been independence. That has been evident in these ten years. They have not been able to dictate a regulation to the Code, we have many gaps, there is so much discretion that they have come to violate political rights. Society must build a model that reflects an adequate representation, and you can think of a mixed one.”
Ruth Hidalgo
‘Regulation changed spirit of the National Electoral Council’
“The origin of the National Electoral Council’ in the Constitution, the structure, was not bad. The bad thing was the regulation that was put to choose them. They were put by people like Rafael Correa, and that’s where the spirit changes. Instead of depoliticizing it, it became more political … We have seen that the National Electoral Council’ has been an articulator of electoral inequality. We are on the verge of choosing a new Council and it has been said that there will be delegates of parties; but the important thing is not to return to bad practices, but to understand and assume the political moment. ”
Solanda Goyes,
‘There were always fraudulent contests’
“There were always cheating, fraudulent contests to hurt people who had the profile. So much so that the evaluation report says that the contests were unsuccessful. I’m worried about a change of model (to be integrated by parties). It can serve, but that method also had its flaws. We must invent another that respects the rights of citizens; and that the people who arrive have a clean trajectory and electoral knowledge. It must be a technical body, so that independence will be guaranteed. ”
Medardo Oleas, ex-TSE
‘The option is an organism that is plural’
“The same defects that we had 10 or 20 years ago have not improved, they have worsened.
We have not even managed to make a good electoral roll or structure a good partisan system. It has become a complicated system, and for the first time, the five electoral members are subordinated to power because their origin is the political movement that sponsored them (AP). The option is to have a plural organism, where sectors of the Executive, parties, citizens, nationalities are represented. ” (O)