‘Democracy cannot be held hostage to electoral calculations or authoritarianism disguised as security,’ CONAIE warned.

On Saturday, just hours before the runoff election begins in Ecuador, Citizen Revolution presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez denounced a series of desperate actions by President Daniel Noboa aimed at influencing the outcome of the presidential election.

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Noboa Decrees State of Emergency Few Hours Before Ecuador’s Run Off Elections

The leftist presidential candidate stated that members of the National Police intelligence unit and the Armed Forces informed her about fabricated operations intended to distribute fake voting records in various regions of the country.

“These false positives are meant to build the narrative of fraud in the face of their imminent defeat,” Gonzalez declared, referring to actions allegedly orchestrated by Noboa, who is seeking re-election as president for the 2025–2029 term.

The Citizen Revolution candidate called on the Armed Forces and the National Police not to take part in such actions, which she said are solely aimed at destabilizing and weakening democracy. She urged the nation’s security forces to act as guarantors of democracy and the interests of the Ecuadorian people.

Gonzalez invited Ecuadorians to vote with optimism and asked all international electoral observers to remain vigilant in the face of the abuses occurring in the country. “This ends soon, Mr. Noboa. You are afraid. Hope is on our side,” she said.

Previously, President Noboa issued a decree declaring a “state of emergency” in nine provinces, including Pichincha, where the capital city of Quito is located, for a period of 60 days.

This decree encompasses measures such as border closures, restrictions on movement, suspension of the inviolability of private homes and communications, and a ban on gatherings.

In a public statement, the National Assembly rejected the declaration of a state of emergency less than 24 hours before the runoff election.

“The measures imposed… are cause for concern as the restrictions on the right to assembly may affect the normal vote counting process and alter the democratic order, thereby compromising the transparent, peaceful, and legitimate conduct of the electoral process,” the statement said, emphasizing that such measures “call into question the legitimacy of the declared state of emergency.”

The Citizen Revolution’s legislative bloc also warned that Noboa’s decree raises serious suspicions about its true purpose and stated that the decision aims to “undermine democratic practices and obstruct the conduct of a free and fair electoral process.”

“The Noboa administration insists on acting outside the law and uses institutions to consolidate its authoritarian project. Ecuador deserves free elections, not elections held under threat. In light of this attempted fraud, does he want to suppress the people’s right to protest?” progressive lawmakers said, accusing Noboa of using the “state of emergency” as a tool for political control.

On Saturday, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) also rejected Noboa’s decree, stressing that it is part of a desperate attempt to manipulate the election, restrict civil rights, and secure political control through fear and force.

“We alert the country and the international community: democracy cannot be held hostage to electoral calculations or authoritarianism disguised as security,” the Indigenous movement said.

teleSUR/ JF

Sources: teleSUR – Pichincha Comunicaciones

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