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ECUADORINMEDIATO requests intervention by the IACHR for discrimination by the National Electoral Council
Posted On 07 Mar 2019
Ecuadornews:
Ecuadorinmediato.com, through its General Director, Dr. Francisco Herrera Aráuz, sent a document to the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), Edison Lanza, complaining about the discrimination of which he has been a victim on the part of the National Electoral Council (CNE) since he is not qualified as a supplier of electoral propaganda, despite having a favorable ruling from the Contentious Electoral Court (TCE).
The CNE issued the Regulation of Electoral Promotion on November 14, 2018 for the candidates to be promoted, under the supervision of the organizer of the elections. Subsequently, he reformed it on December 20, 2018. Article 24 determined that digital media could be providers of electoral promotion.
However, the agency did not allow registration for the electoral promotion of digital media such as the Digital Portal ECUADORINMEDIATO.COM, since it did not implement the corresponding platform, preventing it from being considered, as if it was done with the rest of the media. This, in spite of fulfilling all the required requirements, leaving us in a state of DISCRIMINATION AND INDEFENSION MANIFEST.
After that, ECUADORINMEDIATO challenged the decision before the TCE, the body that pronounced judgment on February 25, stating that there was discrimination against our environment and providing that it be considered as a written press and that it can be registered for electoral guidelines.
Despite this, until now, the CNE has not qualified ECUADORINMEIATO.COM and arranged for digital media to register from 02 to 08 March 2019. Our medium made its registration on March 2, 2019. This day, with a press release, the agency responded by assuring that the qualification will be given after March 9, that is, less than 15 days after the end of the electoral campaign.
Our claims have come to have to suspend our edition of March 5, since there is no solution to our request, nor respect the favorable ruling of the TCE. It must be emphasized that having prevented us from intervening in the electoral campaign from the beginning, causes a considerable economic damage, plus the moral damage that implies having discriminated against us, for which we have presented our complaint, which allows the Ecuadorian legal system.
With this background, ECUADORINMEDIATO.COM informed the Special Rapporteur of Freedom of Expression of these serious events that end up affecting the exercise of the rights guaranteed by the Inter-American Human Rights System and, therefore, requested its pronouncement, as well as the corresponding requirement of information to the Ecuadorian State. (I)
