Ecuador: start of the campaign for the referendum on the Constitution
Even if President Lasso wins his electoral bet, nothing obliges the deputies to implement the results of the referendum.
AP - Marcio Jose Sanchez
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The election year will begin on February 5 in Ecuador.
In addition to municipal and provincial elections, a referendum was proposed by the government to modify the Constitution in terms of security, state institutions and ecology.
The electoral campaign began on January 3 at midnight.
A bet not necessarily won in advance for President Lasso currently facing systematic opposition from the National Assembly.
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With our correspondent in Quito,
Éric Samson
The most controversial issue among the eight that will be submitted to vote is probably that which would allow the extradition of Ecuadorian citizens.
The government sees it as a way to reduce the signs of violence and drug trafficking, according to university professor Sebastian Donoso.
► To read also:
Ecuador: record cocaine seizures for a country that has become a traffic hub
“
Part of the problems of justice, the violence and the massacres in the prisons, the reigning impunity, the
narcos
who continue to control the streets of the country from their
cells
, show how much the judges, the control authorities, the Police can be permeable to the corruption of organized crime,
he analyses.
Extradition could therefore be a solution in certain cases.
»
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Many risks for the president
President Lasso also proposes to reduce the number of deputies and political movements as demanded by a large part of the population.
However, the risks of rejection are significant, according to Ruth Hidalgo, director of the Citizen Participation Corporation: "
This risk is all the more present since the person proposing the referendum, that is to say the government, is not his finest moment in the opinion polls.
The referendum should have been organized earlier.
»
Another problem, even if President Lasso wins his electoral bet, nothing obliges the deputies to implement the results of the referendum.
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Ecuador is no longer spared from gang violence
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Ecuador
Guillermo Lasso