The government would accept consultation on Yasuni issue if there is a signature petition

The statement of President Rafael Correa was made yesterday during his nation-wide broadcast from Checa, Pichincha, when he said that if there are enough signatures to request a referendum, then it will be made, although he ensured that the government “will win again.”

According to Article 407 of the Constitution, the power to call for consultation, in a case like this, would be responsibility of the National Assembly, by stating: “exceptionally such resources may be extracted by a formal request of the Presidency of the Republic and a prior declaration of national interest by the National Assembly, which, if convenient, may call a referendum”.

To achieve a referendum, the petitioner needs to collect a number of signatures equal to 5% of the electoral registry.

The president dismissed claims of environmental sectors that have rejected the Government’s decision of extracting oil from the Yasuni National Park, after the failure of the initiative of gathering money donations in order to leave Yasuni intact.

Correa stated that he will only exploit a fraction of the park and in return the country will receive about $ 18,000 million that will be invested in water and basic services.

Protests over the Yasuni oil extraction carry on.