Lupe Falconí, a RETO auditor, explained that they detected potential irregularities in various provinces. Specifically, they question the fact that the signatures of the president and secretary of the electoral board do not match in 343 electoral records; in another 171, the secretary’s signature is missing; in 780, the signatures of neither the president nor the secretary are missing; and in 435, the numerical results do not match.
Regarding the request for review, the president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint, explained that the organization’s technical and legal departments must issue a report regarding the complaints. He also asserted that verifying these tally sheets is an easy process and explained that in the event of numerical inconsistencies, it is a matter of comparing the original tally sheet with the digital record. If signatures are missing, it is necessary to check whether they are included on the back, which is legal.
Presidential candidate Luisa González relied on a report from observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) to denounce “irregularities throughout the electoral process” and reiterated that she would present evidence of tampering with the tally sheets. She stated that the process, plagued by irregularities, began with Mr. Noboa campaigning without a license. She also accused Noboa of misusing public resources, issuing bonuses without technical support, declaring a state of emergency, and “countless other infractions.”
Although international observers ruled out fraud, they noted that the process was marked by irregularities, including the lack of a license for the presidential candidate, the misuse of public funds, and the declaration of a state of emergency.
Pending the resolution of the complaints, electoral authorities cannot officially announce the results.
Those familiar with electoral processes assert that while elections sometimes produce surprises, the results of the Ecuadorian elections on April 13th reflect anomalies that warrant an investigation.
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