OAS Mission makes some recommendations to the CNE

The Election Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) suggested yesterday to the National Electoral Council (CNE), in an oral report that referred to the elections of last February 17 and the next ones to be held in 2014, several improvements that should be added to the Ecuadorian electoral process.

The head of the delegation, Rafael Alburquerque, specifically recommended delivering the electoral registry to political parties for them “to use it in the campaign; audit the registry and make it accessible in the polling stations.”

Also he asked to consider “certain reforms that would guarantee a better and effective parity” of genre in the process, “reduce the risks associated with the use of public resources for electoral purposes, using a regulation to clarify the actions and behaviors that violate the equity in competition “and determine a” proper sanctions regime”, “to carry out the necessary tests at national level “ of  the data transmission equipment;” ensure that the polling  stations have enough room “for the vote abroad, and “have better signaling” of the precincts.

Moreover, it also recommended the continuation of the “institutional strengthening efforts and staff training,” the planning of processes with “more time, so they would have sufficient time for testing and simulations”, developing security policies; completing the training of the members of the polling stations and counting intermediate boards, at least one week before the election, and not separating voters by sex, but in alphabetical order.

Washington. Roxana Silva, of the CNE, was present in the OAS headquarters yesterday.

CNE considers reducing the number of councilors to choose

In 2009, 1581 councilors were chosen, urban and rural. In the next elections the figure will be 1305. The CNE expects this latter figure to remain so until the elections of February 23, 2014.

This is a result of the use of the Democracy Code for the next sectional elections, in which it is provided that municipalities with more than 400,000 inhabitants will have 15 councilors, more than 300,000 will have 13, more than 200,000, 11, more than 100,000, 9, more than 50,000, 7, and, with less than 50,000, just 5.