Promotion for the Cpccs was reduced to USD 4.5 million

Ecuadornews:

The promotion campaign for the 43 candidates to the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (Cpccs) will cost USD 4.54 million. The communicational products will be broadcast under equal conditions, in press, radio and television.

This is determined by the regulation that was approved on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 by the National Electoral Council (CNE), six days after the start of the campaign for the elections of March 24, in which for the first time a vote will be taken directly by Cpccs counselors.

The regulation and its instructions were approved with three votes in favor and two abstentions. The document confirms that applicants cannot campaign on their own or receive private funding for these purposes. However, no reference is made to the use of social networks or web media to disseminate the candidacies.

For the time being, the CNE is advancing in the contractual bidding process to produce the videos and wedges, as well as to execute the guidelines strategy. Although initially it was indicated that USD 6 million will be allocated for the promotion of this unpublished process, the referential budget included in the Public Procurement Portal is USD 4.54 million.

So far, three offers from advertising and creative agencies have been received to produce the spots. According to the Public Procurement Portal, the estimated date of award of this contract, under special regime modality, will expire tomorrow. If so, the winning company would have four days to produce the promotional items, taking into account that the electoral campaign will begin on Tuesday, February 5.

The videos and wedges will last 30 seconds. The names, trajectory and proposals of the 43 candidates will be included in the products. The spots will have a sign language, in the case of television guidelines. For the radio it was requested to produce wedges in Kichwa and Shuar, depending on the jurisdiction in which they are presented.

The regulations also establish the procedures for the unauthorized campaign. The 24 delegations of the CNE will collect the evidence, and then send it to the Electoral Contentious Court (TCE). That instance must determine if the Cpccs candidates incurred in electoral infractions that could be grounds for disqualification.

Within the USD 4.5 million budgeted for the promotion, an information campaign was also included in which the number of directors to be elected will be disseminated on each of the three ballots: men, women and ethnic minorities. In addition, the correct way to vote will be announced, to avoid annulment of the votes.

This campaign information of the CNE will be disseminated through the social networks and digital media of the country. José Cabrera, counselor of the CNE, said that in these days the 43 candidates will be called to know the promotion regulations.

In a past interview, Cabrera recalled that the Code of Democracy does not regulate the use of social networks, and therefore was not included in the regulation. Thanks to this, several candidates have begun to promote their proposals through Facebook and Twitter.

Wálter Gómez, one of the candidates who will participate in the process, questioned that a few days after the campaign began, communication pieces have not yet been produced. “How do they intend to inform the citizens objectively and effectively?” He said.

The electoral campaign will start on Tuesday, February 5 and will run until Thursday, March 21. (I)

Sourcehttps://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/promocion-cpccs-reduccion-presupuesto-cne.html