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Background

Preliminary Report of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission (OAS/EOM) to Ecuador for the Sectional Elections, Citizen Participation and Societal Oversight Council (CPCCS) Elections, and Referendum and Local Plebiscite of February 5, 2023

The full Preliminary Report is available here.

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM), deployed in Ecuador for the sectional elections, the Citizen Participation and Societal Oversight Council (CPCCS) elections, and the referendum and local plebiscite of February 5, 2023, commends the Ecuadorian people on their high turnout (80.74 percent) during an election day that generally progressed in a calm manner. The Mission also congratulates the elected officials and political forces that took part, and recognizes the work of election workers, polling station officials, and representatives of the different political organizations.

Led by Uruguayan sociologist Juan Pablo Corlazzoli, the Mission was made up of 20 observers and specialists from nine countries, who were deployed in seven of Ecuador’s 24 provinces. The Mission also conducted a substantive analysis of the various key aspects of the electoral process, including electoral organization and technology, campaign finance, electoral justice, direct democracy, and the political participation of women, indigenous peoples, and Afro-descendent populations.

The Mission was installed in the country on January 27. On February 2, it witnessed the wax-sealing of the Database and Repositories of the Computerized Vote Counting and Results System (SIER), as well as the sealing of the digital voting database. On Saturday, February 4, it observed the wax-sealing of the Foreign Database and on Sunday, February 5, the wax-sealing of the national database. From January 30 to February 4, the Mission met with various political actors, electoral and government officials, local and CPCCS candidates, representatives of the “Yes” and “No” campaigns for the referendum, and representatives of civil society, academia and international organizations.

PRE-ELECTORAL PHASE

On February 5, 2022, the plenary of the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced the beginning of the electoral process for the sectional and CPCCS elections.1 The date marked the start of intra-party processes, as well as those for which the CNE and other institutions involved were responsible, with a view to holding the regular elections within the legally prescribed timeframe. Nearly 10 months later, the President of the Republic issued Executive Decree No. 607 of November 29, 2022, convening a referendum to amend the Constitution and calling on the electorate to vote on eight questions. On December 6, 2022, the CNE approved the convocation of the referendum, to be held simultaneously with the sectional and CPCCS elections.2 The approving resolution also provided that the electoral campaign for the referendum would be run for 30 days, starting on January 3, 2023, as had already been established in the electoral calendar for the regular elections.

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The full Preliminary Report is available here.

Reference: S-002/23