Ecuadornews:
International observers of the Inter-American System will follow the local elections in March in Ecuador, the National Electoral Council (CNE for its acronym in Spanish) reported Thursday, after announcing that the OAS will not observe them because it has not been invited.
In the March 24th elections, more than 11,000 local authorities will be elected, including incumbents and alternates, including 23 prefects from the provinces and 221 mayors.
“There is no break with the Inter-American Human Rights System, an entity to which the OAS belongs, but a prioritization in the invitation of technical electoral organizations,” the CNE said in a statement.
And he specified that among the organizations that have been prioritized are the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations, the World Association of Electoral Organizations, or the Electoral Advisory and Promotion Center (CAPEL), also a member of the Inter-American System.
The electoral institution advanced that it analyzes to extend the invitation so that other missions of observation watch the elections.
The Organization of American States (OAS) denied Wednesday that it had violated the CNE regulations during its observation mission of the February 2018 referendum, as denounced by the president of the Ecuadorian electoral body, Diana Atamaint.
The OAS regretted that, for that reason, the CNE had decided not to invite them to observe the upcoming elections and expressed concern at Atamaint’s statements about a change in the regulations regarding electoral observation in the country, according to a letter from sent the head of the electoral function.
The changes that Atamaint intends to make include that the observation missions cannot interview CNE officials, national authorities, party leaders and candidates, nor register or report disputes, irregular situations or conflicts during the electoral elections.
Changes that, according to the OAS, “will make any kind of independent and impartial electoral observation impossible”.
In the letter, the agency said that the work of the observation mission of the popular consultation held on February 4, 2018 fulfilled its work “in strict compliance with the agreement of immunities and privileges signed with the Ecuadorian government and with the agreement of procedures signed with the CNE. ” (I)
