More than 13 million Ecuadorians are called to cast their ballots to elect 23 provincial prefects and deputy prefects, 221 mayors, 864 urban and 443 rural aldermen and women, as well as 4,109 council members.

“Given the situation of social decomposition existing in the country, the only hope we have for now is votes,” sociologist Carol Murillo said.

Ecuador´s Central University professor hopes that by voting it will be possible to stop the chaos of the current Government led by Guillermo Lasso with the election of local and regional opposition authorities, in order to at least “balance the prevailing disaster.”

With this purpose, some candidates took advantage of the formal authorization for political proselytism and from the first day began to spread their proposals among voters.

One of them was Pabel Muñoz, of Revolución Ciudadana (RC), who is running as a candidate for Mayor in Quito and has already revealed the essential elements of an eventual administration: security, work, care and protection, sustainable mobility and a boost to interculture, ecology and sports. In the absence of the State, RC plans to defend life in the 2023 elections, Pichincha province´s runner-up prefect, Paola Pabón, said. She recalled that after seven years of prohibition, it is the first time that her organization enters an electoral process as an independent movement, and that allows them to present candidates throughout the country, something that did not happen in 2019.

Although the campaign began last Tuesday, since long before some hopefuls made propaganda in advance, although National Electoral Council authorities admitted that it is something difficult to sanction with the current legal framework.

On February 5, Ecuadorians will also elect the seven main and alternate members of the Citizen Participation and Social Control Council (CPCCS), and will participate in the referendum promoted by Lasso’s government.

There are eight questions on issues, such as environment, security, transparency, political party registration, how the entity will be formed and the powers of the CPCCS.

Analysts consider that the procedure will be a thermometer to measure how popularthe president and several popular sectors are, including indigenous people, teachers and students, who have already come out against the government proposal.

Taken from Orbe weekly

wup/avr