THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF JURISTS MISSION TO ECUADOR:

THE ELECTORAL PROCESS AND THE CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2007

           

            INTRODUCTION

 

            The mission sent by the American Association of Jurists (AAJ) to Ecuador included its President, Vanessa Ramos, Esq., and Ernesto Moreau, Esq., President of the AAJ Chapter in Argentina. They arrived in the city of Quito on September 29, 2007. A total of 29 international observers in Ecuador received extensive training and materials about the electoral process.

 

            On September 30, 2007, at approximately at 6:30am, the Official Opening Ceremony of the elections commenced. The President and the Vice President of the Republic, Rafael Correa and Lenin Moreno, respectively, and the President of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Jorge Acosta Cisneros, proclaimed the opening of the electoral process. The Electoral Court is composed of seven members representing different political lines.

 

            ON SITE OBSERVATION OF THE PROCESS

 

            The electoral process took place from 7:00am until 5:00pm. While the delegation was observing the process, they were accompanied by Judge Hernán Rivadeneira, member of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, who was also responsible of ensuring access to the polling stations and transportation.

 

            The AAJ Mission worked jointly with international observers from El Salvador, namely, Nidia Díaz, a member of Parliament, and Lilliam de Benavides, Esq. They went to the following polling stations:

 

  • Experimental School May 24th in Chaupicruz, Parochial District in Quito
  • Police Academy in Chapicruz, Parochial District in Quito
  • Borja Precinct in Quito

           

            Immediately thereafter, the observer mission traveled North on the Panamerican Highway, stopping at the following locations:

 

  • Luis Pasteur School in Guayllabamba
  • Superior Technical Institute, Alberto Enríquez G. in Atuntaqui. There the observers met with the President and representatives of the Provincial Electoral Tribunal of Imbabura.
  • Ibarra National College in Ibarra

 

In all of the electoral voting centers the same procedures were observed:

 

  • Citizens approached the voting tables designated for males and females. The officials handed them 2 ballots, one containing the names of the 24 candidates for the National Assembly and the other ballot for the proposed provincial assembly members. The electorate would then cast their vote for their candidates at a table covered with a cardboard, thereby protecting his or her privacy and secret balloting. Afterwards, the voter would place his/her ballot in 2 ballot boxes, one designated for candidates to the National Assembly, and the other for the Provincial Assembly members.

 

  • The ballots -approximately the size of an open newspaper-were designed as follows: name and a color photograph of each candidate, the party logo and affiliation, a designated electoral number and a check box. The voters would mark the ballot inside the small check box provided, from an array of different political tendencies, having the option of choosing candidates from different political affiliations.

 

  • There were information booths at each location and special facilities for disabled voters within the voting centers.

 

  • The influx of voters was continuous and no overcrowding was observed.

 

  • The observers went to various locations at the voting centers. They spoke with poll watchers and various party representatives to inquire about any incidents or irregularities, request information about preliminary results or about voters who were unable to vote because they were not registered or were not listed as registered voters.

 

  • The typical voter would take one or two minutes in completing the required process before casting his or her vote. Some voters had more difficulty in understanding the instructions. However, they were helped by the voting officers and took an average of 5 minutes to cast their ballot. No cases were observed where such assistance interfered with the voter’s free will or selection.

 

            SCRUTINY AND VOTE COUNT

 

            The Supreme Electoral Tribunal announced that the polling results would be known within 20 to 30 days. The first 16 polling stations‘ ballots were counted on Sept. 30 at 23:15 hrs. for a total of 37,656.

 

            Based on an exit poll taken of 6,240 voters by the consulting firm, Santiago Pérez, which was circulated by all of the media, PAIS Movement had won 15 of the 24 National Assembly seats. On Oct. 1st, 2007, the newspaper “El Diario” published an article stating that:  “At 8:30 PM, according to preliminary data furnished by “Participación Ciudadana”, one of the electoral observers who performed a quick vote count, PAIS had obtained 63.5% of the national vote... 22.36% of the votes having been tallied, from 6,129 ballot boxes, representing 16.6% of the total of 36.989 ballot boxes placed across the country.” The publicized figures represented 4% of the electoral voting lists.

 

            At the end of the electoral process, the President of the Republic, Rafael Correa, said smiling, “we expect to obtain 80 of the seats as assembly members”…that was the first public announcement made by the victorious group …founded on the exit poll made by the consulting group of Santiago Pérez, aired last night by Channel 1 (El Universal, Oct. 1, 2007, morning edition.)

 

            CONCLUSIONS

 

            The organization and voting procedures ran smoothly, without irregularities or discrepancies. The press did not report any mayor incidents. Thus, we conclude that the process was orderly and transparent.

 

            The poor did experience some difficulties but they were resolved with the assistance of the officers assigned to the polling stations. In some places the polling booths to cast ballots were too small and uncomfortable. It is recommended that in the future, the needs of the less privileged be addressed through educational campaigns.

 

            At the time this report was issued, only 2,286 polling stations have been tallied, representing 6% of the electoral vote. That is, four hundred thousand (400,000) votes.

 

            The untimely statements made by the President of the Republic, just after the conclusion of the successful voting process, and based upon an unofficial exit poll taken of 6,129 voters out of approximately 6,700,000 voters, were considered inappropriate. Even though the President did acknowledge the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s efficiency, in fact, the statement did impact on the authority of the Tribunal as the only institution with jurisdiction in the electoral process.

 

 

            Quito, Ecuador, Oct. 1, 2007.