Rivadeneira stated during a meeting with foreign reporters that the temporary suspension of the organization will force thousands of members to resign to be eligible to run in the local elections.

The leader of the country’s leading opposition party estimated that around 10,000 members of the RC movement will have to leave the party formally to run in the local elections, which have been moved up to November 29, 2026.

She explained that this is not an internal exodus, but a legal requirement, as, according to electoral law, candidates cannot belong to a political organization for at least 90 days before their registration.

Rivadeneira noted that the movement’s temporary suspension was a decision by the Electoral Disputes Tribunal (TCE) adopted irregularly amid an investigation into alleged irregular campaign financing, which left the RC off the political registry for nine months.

The National Electoral Council (CNE)’s decision to bring the local elections forward by almost three months, based on the possibility of heavy rains in February 2027, is also added.

jdt/iff/otf/avr