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Legislative majority inclines towards the dismissal of President Serrano
Posted On 09 Mar 2018
Ecuadonews:
The banks concentrated yesterday on holding meetings with their members to define the position. The block of legislators of Alliance PAIS announced that after the appearance they will be summoned to process the information.
At least 92 votes are confirmed to support the motion of Assemblyman César Rohón (PSC), regarding the eventual dismissal of José Serrano as president of the National Assembly. Today, the plenary will define your destiny. When only five days remain until Serrano reaches 10 months as president of the Legislative, his stay or not will be decided after he appears in plenary from 17:00.
But since yesterday you could already hear the name of Carlos Bergmann, second vice president, as the possible successor. This is because the first vice president, Viviana Bonilla, is in maternity period until April. The request for the appearance of Serrano and Baca was born from the Social Christian Party.
César Rohón requested a change in the agenda on February 28 after the latter released an audio that contained the dialogue between the President of the Assembly and the former Comptroller, Carlos Pólit. On March 6, Rohón added a proposal to dismiss the head of the Legislative, which was approved with 112 votes in favor.
The position is supported by the block, explained Luis Fernando Torres. They add 15 assembly members. Now voting is beginning to take place within the Assembly. Esteban Bernal, of CREO -movement that has 21 votes in favor of the impeachment-, affirmed that the plenary session, as the highest instance of the Assembly, can dismiss the president by means of a resolution.
However, he argued that Serrano should resign after his appearance, “to recover the institutionality of Ecuador … and thus avoid the embarrassment of having to dismiss him.” In front of the possible candidate that could propose CREO for the presidency, Bernal said that the bloc has not spoken about it, but said that his interest is not to move a candidate.
According to Eliseo Azuero, of the National Integration Bank (BIN), the mechanism is stipulated in article 18, numeral 5 of the Organic Law of the Legislative Function. The article accepts that for the cessation of functions of the highest authorities, “the cessation of functions as an assembly member for any of the causes established in the Constitution and the law” shall be taken into account.
His replacement will exercise the functions until 2021. The Assemblyman stressed that Serrano is not asked to cease his functions as a legislator, but that he be dismissed as president since “he was elected by the citizens. The fact that he has some complication does not mean that we go through his seat. ” He added, however, that they will give him the right to defense.
The BIN had to hold a meeting yesterday to define the issue, Azuero said he expects a name from the bench. The BIN has 15 votes that, apparently, will approve Rohón’s request. Within the dissident group there is also support for Serrano to step aside. This, argued Sofia Espin, is also based on the position of President Lenin Moreno. “The president’s future is cast; the resignation must be requested or dismissed.” About a possible candidate, he affirmed that the Citizens’ Revolution caucus looks favorably on the name of Bergmann, but did not affirm that there is an agreement to move it.
He argued that they will look for a name “of consensus that generates dialogues between all the legislative blocks and that allows a governability”. But Franklin Samaniego, of the same group, anticipated that the right to defense should be granted and explain the reasons for the audio. The bench of Citizen’s Revolution has 29 votes and, apparently, they coincide with an eventual destitution.
From the bench of PAIS, César Litardo explained that although they supported the appearance they will give the possibility of due process and the right to defense to José Serrano. Subsequently, they will request that a period of 30 minutes be granted for the heads of the block to hold a meeting, process the information and choose the best mechanism, as well as the way of voting.
This group also did not meet to analyze the names that could be mooted in replacement of Serrano. On the restructuring Azuero said that it is necessary to “give it life, mobility and the legislative production that the people need at this time”. To this position Bernal added that he asked “do not be afraid of restructuring”, as even other groups have claimed to support it. The Citizen Revolution block announced that it will support the total restructuring of the Assembly and made its presidencies and vice-presidencies available.
This issue has already dragged nine days and there is also another one that should deal with the whole before the appearances. The 137 Assembly members must also approve, in the first debate, the report on the Bill of Amendment to the Organic Law of the Council of Citizen Participation and Social Control.
Resolution Dismissal and impeachment
Article 3 of the resolution, approved by the Legislative on March 6, stipulates that after the appearances the plenary will immediately decide on the dismissal of President Serrano and the start of the political trial of prosecutor Carlos Baca . 10 months of management will meet the National Assembly on March 14. Situation of Carlos Baca María José Carrión said that the political trial of Baca will follow the normal process, even if the vote is favorable.
Yépez will leave the commission for Serrano’s departure
Assemblyman Héctor Yépez (who just days ago left SUMA) affirmed that he will vote in favor of demanding the resignation of José Serrano, as president of the Legislative, and that the commissions be restructured. “If it is necessary to restructure my own, I am president of the Commission of Citizen Participation, which is changed, if necessary to reorganize the Assembly, which is ensnared.
I have no problem in making my position available, “he said. He recalled that he also voted in favor of the proposal of the Christian Social Assemblyman César Rohón that Serrano and the National Prosecutor, Carlos Baca Mancheno, should appear in plenary session. “What happened? That was complemented, that Serrano and Baca appear and, at the same moment, here we voted on the dismissal of Serrano and on the beginning of Baca’s impeachment, that’s the right thing, it should always be stated like that, “he said.
He assured that he will vote in favor of that motion and that there will be known “who is who and we will see what play with Serrano”. He insisted that he has to take a step aside, considering that the head of the Legislative is in the middle of a “novel”. He concluded that among his options is not to join the ranks of the ruling
For Nebot, the dismissal must proceed legally
The leader of Madera de Guerrero-PSC, Jaime Nebot Saadi, anticipated that from the legal point of view the sanctions that correspond to the National Assembly are the dismissal of the president of the Legislative, José Serrano; and that a political trial be launched against the Attorney General of the Nation, Carlos Baca Mancheno.
In this sense, the Mayor of Guayaquil also clarified that the PSC-MG block is not interested in anything that has to do with the restructuring of the presidencies or vice-presidencies of the Legislative Power, as well as the commissions.
On the other hand, clarified that Serrano’s request for resignation, which led to other political movements last week, aims to Viviana Bonilla assume the presidency of the Assembly, because in her role as vice president, who would definitely occupy the position. However, Bonilla, who has a medical license, by a statement last Wednesday, rejected the assertion. Nebot made these statements during the radio broadcasting space that he performs on Wednesdays, in which he reiterated that today, after the appearances, the Assembly must take the pertinent sanctions. (I)
