On 7 February, Ecuadorians elected their representatives for the 2021-2025 period by popular vote. Along with the election of the President and Vice-President of the Republic, citizens voted to elect the 137 members of the National Assembly and 5 members of the Andean Parliament.

Given the final results, Ecuador is due to have a second round on 11 April with the two candidates who obtained the highest number of votes to become President of the Republic, Andrés Arauz and Guillermo Lasso. The Election Observation Mission of the Organisation of American States (OAS) declared in its preliminary report that “the Mission is concerned that other public entities or authorities may wish to assume functions that could affect the powers of the electoral bodies and the election itself, thereby potentially interfering in the electoral process” and that “institutions outside the electoral function obstruct the proper conduct of the electoral process”. In order to improve the organisation of the second round of the elections, the Mission recommends: “Ensuring that the electoral bodies can exercise their functions with full autonomy, without external interference or pressure”.

In this context, it is essential that the institutions of the state of Ecuador respect the will expressed by the people of Ecuador through their votes, guarantee the absolute transparency of the electoral process, and the independence and autonomy of the National Electoral Council (CNE) so that it complies with the electoral calendar. It is also crucial that there is no interference in the electoral process by other public or private bodies.

We are confident that the CNE’s efforts will lead to a democratic, transparent and secure process that reflects the will of the people.

We call on bodies outside the electoral process not to interfere in the second round of elections and to comply strictly with the attributions established in the Constitution of Ecuador and in the country’s laws.

As Members of the European Parliament we are closely following the electoral process in Ecuador and, many of us have already requested the National Electoral Council’s accreditation to observe the election. We also trust that the sovereign decision of the Ecuadorian people will be respected and we look forward to a safe, transparent and orderly electoral process that strengthens participative democracy in Ecuador.