CNE delays resolution in favor of Justicia Social on the potential candidacy of Álvaro Noboa

The resolution of the sentence in favor of the Social Justice movement, which tries to register the presidential candidacy of businessman Álvaro Noboa for the 2021 elections, is postponed for another 24 hours. This Sunday, December 13, 2020, it was announced that the National Electoral Council (CNE) suspended, for the third time, the plenary session in which the legal report should be dealt with in order to comply with the ruling of the Contentious Electoral Tribunal (TCE), which granted the group new deadlines to register their candidacies.

CNE delays resolution in favor of Justicia Social on the potential candidacy of Álvaro Noboa

On Friday 11 and Saturday 12 the session could not be installed due to lack of a quorum, since only the president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint, and the counselor, Esthela Acero, attended the auditorium of the organization for the plenary sessions. This newspaper tried to contact the councilors Enrique Pita, José Cabrera and Luis Verdesoto, who were absent in the two previous sessions, but have avoided publicly speaking on the case. According to Cabrera, he is unwell. From the CNE it was announced this Sunday that the President of the entity will not give interviews related to the subject either.

The plenary session was postponed to Monday, December 14, but for now the call has not been made official. The delay in the processing of the sentence contrasts with the statements made by the majority of directors, who acknowledged that there are “delays” in the calendar of the general elections of February 7, 2021.

Atamaint herself indicated that it was expected to start printing the ballots as of December 15, but compliance with the deadline was complicated by the ruling in favor of Social Justice, a group that regained its legal status after being eliminated by the National Council Electoral.

Last Friday, details of the legal report that will be heard by the CNE Plenary were released, in which the “minimum deadlines” to comply with the Court’s ruling will be defined. The document proposes that in case of requiring primary elections, Social Justice would have only one day to carry out this process. And they would also have an additional day for the acceptance of candidatures, respecting the deadlines that are imposed when objections are presented.

Through a statement, representatives of Social Justice criticized the lack of a quorum for the session of the National Electoral Council. “The candidate Álvaro Noboa categorically rejects the attitudes and administrative manipulations of the CNE,” the text states.

They also asked the CNE to abide by the ruling of the Electoral Contentious Tribunal, which in its opinion “granted new deadlines to register the candidates Álvaro Noboa and Gino Cornejo,” who are seeking the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Republic, respectively.

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