CNE of Ecuador to Repeat Parliamentary Elections Abroad due to Telematic Voting Failures

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The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador has decided to repeat the vote for representatives to the National Assembly for the constituencies abroad. This decision comes after the problems faced during the telematic voting system in the elections last Sunday. Many voters complained about not being able to cast their votes due to issues with the system.

The CNE annulled the presidential and legislative votes of Ecuadorians residing abroad. The president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint, stated that the respective areas are ordered to repeat the elections in the constituencies abroad. The National Technical Directorate of Electoral Processes and the Legal Advice of the organization will present reports on the repetition of the elections abroad.

However, the CNE considered that the repetition of the vote would not affect the overall result for the President of the Republic, so new presidential elections among migrants were deemed unnecessary. The CNE will define the date and modality for the new legislative votes to be carried out abroad.

The decision from the CNE came after the Citizen Revolution movement called for an investigation and a repetition of the votes in electoral constituencies abroad. On the other hand, the Construye movement opposed the electoral repetition, arguing that it violates the rights of representativeness and would favor the parties whose candidates have advanced to the second round of the presidential elections.

The CNE had attributed the problems in the voting system abroad to cyberattacks suffered by the telematic system from multiple countries. The Organization of American States (OAS) electoral observation mission recommended investigating the issues and reviewing the telematic system’s guarantees.

Over 400,000 Ecuadorians living abroad were eligible to vote in the elections. However, only a fraction of them were able to register their vote effectively due to the problems with the telematic system.

The special electoral constituencies for Ecuador correspond to Europe, Asia, and Oceania; the United States and Canada; and Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Each of these circumscriptions designates two people to integrate the future National Assembly, which consists of 137 legislators. The preliminary results gave three assembly members each to the Revolución Ciudadana and Construye parties.

The elections on Sunday were not only for selecting a president but also for electing assembly members and deciding on a plebiscite that prohibited oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Eight presidential candidates participated, with Luisa González and Álvaro Noboa receiving the highest votes and advancing to the second electoral round on October 15.

The CNE’s decision aims to address the concerns raised by the problems in the telematic voting system and ensure a fair and transparent electoral process.