2024-07-06 23:12:58
President Daniel Noboa had consulted the State Attorney General’s Office on whether he should request a license to campaign in the 2025 elections.
President Daniel Noboa’s concern about the need to have a license to campaign during the 2025 elections has been analyzed by the State Attorney General’s Office and the National Electoral Council (CNE).
And on June 20, the Attorney General’s Office responded that it would not issue an opinion on the license. “It is definitively concluded that the Attorney General’s Office is unable to comment on the query raised,” stated the report from the institution to which PRIMICIAS had access.
The decision was taken, according to the Attorney General’s Office, because it lacks the authority to express itself in accordance with the constitutional and legal provisions and rulings of the Constitutional Court that have been cited, “since it concerns constitutional interpretative norms and rulings.” And also because “it could imply an interference in the exercise of powers inherent to the organs of the Electoral Function, given that Ecuador is in an electoral period.”
The request
The debate over the request for leave arose on May 22, when the President consulted the Attorney General’s Office about the rule that prevents a public official from campaigning while in office.
Following the request, the Attorney General’s Office referred the query to the CNE, which declined to process it, indicating that it was not within its jurisdiction either.
In his request, Noboa argued that his government is transitional, due to the application of the constitutional figure of the ‘‘cross death’ in 2023, which led to elections. However, the opposition saw Noboa as an attempt to avoid handing the presidency over to the vice president, Verónica Abad, whom he withdrew his confidence from since assuming power. Abad, who has served as ambassador for peace in Israel since December 2023, has distanced herself from Noboa’s government and has denounced an alleged persecution against her.
Article 146 of the Constitution states that in the event of a temporary absence from the Presidency of the Republic, he will be replaced by the person serving as Vice President. By law, Noboa must take a leave of absence if he runs for re-election in February 2025.
By: PRIMICIAS