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OAS SECRETARY GENERAL AND ECUADORIAN PRESIDENT REVIEW ELECTORAL PROCESS UNDERWAY IN ECUADOR

The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa met this morning with Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza to discuss the efforts of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) underway in that country to monitor the electoral process leading to the vote for members of the Constituent Assembly.

Also participating in the meeting, which was held at the Carondelet Presidential Palace in Quito, were Foreign Minister María Fernanda Espinosa, and Insulza’s Personal Representative and Chief of the Mission, Enrique Correa.

During the two-day visit to Ecuador, Insulza has met with high-level government officials as well as with the President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Jorge Acosta, who is overseeing and supervising the upcoming September 30 vote.

Insulza, accompanied by the Chief of the OAS Mission, Enrique Correa, reviewed details of the next balloting to elect the members of the body who’s fundamental task will be to draft a new Constitution for that nation. The Secretary General expressed confidence that this process will be carried out in keeping with the democratic norms that have characterized recent electoral processes in Ecuador

Due to the many candidates running, Insulza recognized the complexity of the upcoming civic event and asserted that the September electoral process will be monitored in the same peaceful environment as the previous elections observed by the OAS, and will successfully conclude with the installation of the new authorities.

Regarding the pre-electoral environment, Insulza highlighted the importance of an open dialogue as the only political democratic method and called on all expressions of violence to be set aside. He noted that the debate of ideas, no matter how strong it may be, is expected in the current panorama, and underscored the need for political forces to find consensus between them and to respect the rules of the democratic game. “In democracy new debates are necessary and welcomed; the important thing is to hold them peacefully and with respect of the democratic norms,” he said.

“Having previously observed the civic spirit demonstrated by the Ecuadorian people, I have reasons to feel optimistic,” he reiterated, as he committed the full technical support of the OAS observers, who will rigorously follow the process.

Workshop on Processes of Constitutional Building

This morning, Secretary General Insulza participated, together with President Rafael Correa and Foreign Minister Fernanda Espinosa, in a workshop on Processes of Constitutional Building organized by the OAS Secretariat for Political Affairs, the IDEA Institute and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy.

During his remarks, he said that the changes that the region is experiencing are caused by the levels of inequality and injustice seen in the Americas, despite of the sustained economic growth. “Latin America is not poor, he said, but it is unjust, and the people question why the benefits derived from the economic growth that the macroeconomic figures show, do not reach all sectors.”

In this regard, he added “we must be capable of building strong institutions, nations with rule of law, where authorities that are representative of the citizenship emerge; and are not auto-generated. In previous times, the social contract established that authority was granted in exchange of security, now the citizens legitimize the authorities in exchange of exercising sovereignty.” Providing an example, Insulza said “the chorus of the Greek tragedies wants to be present and play an active role.”

Insulza noted that “achieving consensus is fundamental, and hopefully Latin-Americans will understand the magnitude of the changes we seek and know how to react to them.”

During his visit to Ecuador, the OAS Secretary General also met with the President of Congress, Jorge Cevallos, and with the Minister of Government, Gustavo Larrea.

Reference: E-187/07