| Ecuador: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity | ||
| Indicators | Score | |
| 17 | In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities? | 100 |
| 18 | Is the election monitoring agency effective? | 45 |
| 19 | Are elections systems transparent and effective? | 96 |
Indicator and sub-Indicator Details
| 17 | In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities? | |||||||
| 17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities? | ||||||||
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Comments: Article 210 of the National Constitution establishes the agency of election monitoring as the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE--Tribunal Supremo Electoral) . This agency will supervise and will direct the electoral processes to elect representatives. Additionally this agency will elect representatives to deliberative agencies with international competence, in concordance with international treaties which are part of Ecuador. Finally article 18 from Law on Elections pronounces in the same sense and indicates that the TSE is the highest electoral agency and among its functions are to organize, to direct, to watch and to guarantee the electoral processes. References: National Constitution, Article 210 Law on Elections, Article 18
Peer Review Comments: OAS observers questioned the transparency of local TSE offices. During the December 2006 presidential elections, Guayaquil's election office was chaired by a relative of the leading presidential candidate Noboa. When it appeared that Noboa would lose to Correa on election night, the chair shut down the vote counting until ordered to resume by the TSE office in Quito. Many observers believe that in order to ensure accountability, TSE offices should be comprised of non-partisan civil servants instead of political party representatives.
Peer Review Comments: The Electoral Tribunal has been extremely controversial recently and was greatly criticized. Surely this mechanism will be changed in the new constitution and laws.
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| 18 | Is the election monitoring agency effective? | |||||||
| 18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference. | ||||||||
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Comments: Article 209 of the National Constitution, clause 4, indicates that the director of the Supreme Elctoral Tribunal (TSE--Tribunal Supremo Electoral) will be appointed by the National Congress. With strict adherence to the law, this agency is protected from political interference. But as it is to be expected, the National Congress will appoint a close person to this position. The Constitution in its article 209 and article 18 from Law on Elections determine that the TSE will be overseen by seven main directors, who will represent the political parties that have obtained the highest number of votes in the last elections. References: National Constitution, Article 209 Law on Elections, Article 18
Peer Review Comments: In 1998, Ecuador's Constitutional Assembly reformed the conformation of the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE, Tribunal Supremo Electoral). Its article 209 (cited above by the researcher) indicates that it will be integrated with seven members so as to represent the political parties, movements or political alliances that have obtained the most votes in the latest elections. Such a conformation system has increased political interference over the TSE.
Peer Review Comments: The appointment of political party representatives as TSE officials at the provincial level leads to potential political interference. Most citizens know which political party their local TSE head represents. This leads to a general perception of bias.
Peer Review Comments: Having seven directors representing the political parties guarantees political interference.
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| 18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency. | ||||||||
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Comments: References: www.elcomercio.com (26 de Agosto de 2006) La calificación de binomios presidenciales termina hoy www.elcomercio.com (20 de Septiembre de 2006) Campaña electoral de Ecuador es austera y agresiva , www.eluniverso.com (28 de Agosto de 2006) Empresa española controlará el gasto electoral Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana).
Peer Review Comments: As explained in question 18a, the appointment system for Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE, Tribunal Supremo Electoral) facilitates political parties' ability to completely control this national state entity. In practice, the TSE has been managed by political parties.
Peer Review Comments: The independence of the agency would be better supported if TSE officials were all trained civil servants and unaffiliated with political parties.
Peer Review Comments: All appointees are political party representatives.
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| 18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff. | ||||||||
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Comments: Participación Ciudadana (PC) is a Social Civil Organization, and has independence form the Tribunal Supremo Electoral(TSE). PC has participated several times like an independent observer, communicating later the transparency of the elections. The Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) chooses companies or independent advertizing agencies to carry out a control of the elections. These organizations have qualified and full time workers. One of these organizations is Participación Ciudadana. Participacion Ciudadana (PC) toward its Centro de Monitoreo de Medios was working in the main cities of Ecuador as Guayaquil and Quito, the employees were 16 between the two cities. The coverage was 24 hours, the pursuit of the publicity toward the outlet means was carry out in tree turns: 6:00 am - 14:00 pm; 14:00 pm - 20:00 pm; 20:00 pm - 6:00 am. References: Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana)
Peer Review Comments: The State election monitoring agency in Ecuador is not Participación Ciudadana but the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE, Tribunal Supremo Electoral). Participación Ciudadana is a civil society organization that also monitors election processes as a part of its institutional action plan.
Peer Review Comments: The staff and the technical operations employed during vote counting were professional and accurate.
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| 18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle. | ||||||||
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Comments: The agency Infoadex tracks 50 TV channels, 250 radio stations and 30 magazines in Ecuador. However, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE-Tribunal Supremo Electoral) fined Infoadex US$54.600 for have not reporting electoral expenses on time, or on the Web page. The TSE and provincial tribunals ,with these delays, could not have a strict control of the candidatess bills. Nevertheless, the TSE renewed the company's contract, despite these incidents, for the second turn. The CSO Citizen Participation (PC--Participation Ciudadana) has less participation in the control of the electoral expenses, than Infoadex. PC tracks eight TV channels, 16 radio stations and 10 newspapers and carries out reports every week. References: www.elcomercio.com (26 de Agosto de 2006) La calificación de binomios presidenciales termina hoy www.elcomercio.com (20 de Septiembre de 2006) Campaña electoral de Ecuador es austera y agresiva www.elcomercio.com (22 de Octubre de 2006) Tribunal Supremo Electoral multa a empresa española Infoadex encargada de control político www.elcomercio.com (28 de Octubre de 2006) TSE ratificó a la empresa española Infoadex para el control del gasto electoral www.elcomercio.com (9 de Diciembre de 2006) TSE revisa multa de campañas Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana)
Peer Review Comments: The TSE provided election results on its Web site as they became available.
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| 18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders. | ||||||||
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Comments: The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE-Tribunal Supremo Electoral) is the body that imposes penalties to candidates that make infractions. According to the groups Infoadex and Citizen Participation (PC--Participation Ciudadana)before the end of the presidential campaign, the campaigns had already exceeded the limit of the electoral expenses. Thus the TSE imposed froze the electoral campaigns ' spending. However, the candidates continued spending without the TSE's knowledge. They also benefited from indirect publicity. However, the TSE did not do anything to stop the publicity. Once the electoral campaign s concluded, Infoadex confirmed that Álvaro Noboa surpassed by 340 percent the limit of the electoral expenses and Rafael Correa by 68 percent. According to Infoadex, Noboa overspent by US$3,117.654 and according to PC Noboa overspent by US$3,084.886. Despite these reports, TSE found that the candidate overspent by US$153,928 and that he had to pay a penalty of US$306.000. TSE demonstrated that is not impartial because Noboa should have to pay a penalty of around US$10 million. References: www.elcomercio.com (9 de Diciembre de 2006) TSE revisa multa de campañas www.elcomercio.com (16 de Noviembre de 2006) Noboa sobrepasó límite del gasto electoral con $122, 965 www.elcomercio.com (17 de Noviembre de 2006) TSE inmovilizó la cuenta del gasto electoral de Álvaro Noboa www.elcomercio.com (17 de Noviembre de 2006) TSE inmovilizó cuentas de gasto electoral de Correa y Noboa www.elcomercio.com (18 de Noviembre de 2006) TSE congela las cuentas de los candidatos www.elcomercio.com (20 de Noviembre de 2006) Participación Ciudadana critica al TSE por el gasto www.ciudadaniainformada.com (17 de Noviembre de 2006) Los grandes gastos de Noboa y Correa y la publicidad disfrazada www.elcomercio.com (9 de Diciembre de 2006) TSE revisa multa de campañas Entrevista con Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana) www.elmercurio.com.ec (2007/04/04) TSE impone sanción a Alvaro Noboa .
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| 19 | Are elections systems transparent and effective? | |||||||
| 19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration. | ||||||||
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Comments: The System of voter registration is safe. Some flaws were at hand as incomplete ballots, but the system of register has not presented flaws. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE-Tribunal Supremo Electoral) publicizes the electoral process and the the importance of citizen participation in the elections through radio, television and print media. The first round of elections were carried out on Oct. 15, 2006. The TSE promulgated the official results after 12 days. The TSE hired a Brazilian company called E-VOTE to make a quick account of votes, however this company failed and TSE canceled its contract. The electoral observers, including Citizen Participation (PC--Participation Ciudadana) and the Organization of American States (OEA--Organización de Estados Americanos) ratified the transparency of the elections and the lack of fraud. Although they found that the TSE made an error to hire E-VOTE. However, citizens were still worried about fraud due to the collapse of quick count of the votes by the company E-VOTE. University officials carried out an audit to the systems of TSE to confirm the transparency of the voting system. These results were favorable for the TSE, because it was demonstrated that there was no fraud in the first round. The official results of the second round were proclaimed after 14 days, the OEA found that the elections were totally transparent.
References: www.elcomercio.com (31 de Agosto de 2006) La contratación de E-VOTE fue de USD 5,2 millones www.elcomercio.com (1 de Septiembre de 2006) Una empresa brasileña transmitirá el conteo electoral www.elcomercio.com (16 de Octubre de 2006) TSE anunció hoy la cancelación del contrato de la empresa E-VOTE www.elcomercio.com (16 de Octubre de 2006) E-VOTE no logró cumplir con conteo rápido www.elcomercio.com (17 de Octubre de 2006) El colapso en el envió de datos provocó una crisis www.elcomercio.com (17 de Octubre de 2006) OEA descarta fraude en elecciones www.elcomercio.com (18 de Octubre de 2006) El fracaso de E-VOTE no afecta la votación www.elcomercio.com (27 de Octubre de 2006) TSE promulgó los resultados oficiales de primera vuelta presidencial www.elcomercio.com (22 de Noviembre de 2006) Un informe legitima transparencia del TSE en la primera vuelta electoral www.elcomercio.com (27 de Noviembre de 2006) OEA: las elecciones se desarrollaron con normalidad www.elcomercio.com (4 de Diciembre de 2006) TSE finalizó conteo oficial de votos: Rafael Correa tiene 56.67%, Álvaro Noboa 43.33% .
Peer Review Comments: The E-vote issue is not related at all to Ecuador's voter registration system.
Peer Review Comments: The social scientist's comments are not germane to voter registration.
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| 19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system. | ||||||||
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Comments: The Ley de Elecciones (Law on Elections) establishes an internal administrative procedure to challenge the election results. References: Article 196 National Constitution Article 38 de la ley de modernización Article 94, 95 Ley de Elecciones (Impugnaciones)
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| 19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system. | ||||||||
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Comments: If a candidate thinks there has been fraud, they can turn to the judicial system. During the first round of the presidential elections, Rafael Correa was in the second position, as the candidate Álvaro Noboa won the elections. Correa suspected computer fraud was the cause of the collapse of the quick vote calculations by the Brazilian company E-VOTE. The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE-Tribunal Supremo Electoral) investigated and found that there was no computer crime. References: www.elcomercio.com (16 de Octubre de 2006) Correa insiste en que ganó la primera vuelta www.elcomercio.com (17 de Octubre de 2006) Correa busca aliados, la estrategia y fondos , www.elcomercio.com (17 de Octubre de 2006) Fiscalía impidió salida del país de empresa E-VOTE www.elcomercio.com (18 de Octubre de 2006) Una indagación a la empresa www.elcomercio.com (18 de Octubre de 2006) La Fiscalía puso vigilancia al sistema informático de E-VOTE , www.elcomercio.com (8 de Noviembre de 2006) TSE cobró las garantías a la empresa brasileña E-VOTE www.elcomercio.com (2 de Diciembre de 2006).
Peer Review Comments: A better information source would be the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE, Tribunal Supremo Electoral) and the Constitutional Tribunal (TC, Tribunal Constitucional).
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| 19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections. | ||||||||
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Comments: The military and security forces were quite neutral; keeping the order and guiding the voters to their respective electoral places.
References: Interview with Francisco Delgado (Participación Ciudadana)
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| 19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections. | ||||||||
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Comments: Ecuador work with international institutions such as the Organization of American States (OEA--Organización de Estados Americanos), whose principle goal is to carry out a transparent elections. Article 3 of the Reglamento de Observación (Election Observation Regulations) determines that the observers can be international or national. Article 6 of the regulation authorizes observers to carry out a series of activities to monitor the elections. References: Article 3 and 6 Reglamento de Observación Electoral
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| 19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections. | ||||||||
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Comments: As international observer, the Organization of American States (OEA--Organización de Estados Americanos)signed an agreement with tthe Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE-Tribunal Supremo Electoral) for the surveillance of the electoral process guaranteeing transparency in the elections. The inspection of the electoral process covers all stages, at the technical levels, computer levels, constitution of the electoral meetings, and partial recounts of votes. The OEA conformed 140 observers, like the groups Citizen Participation (PC--Participation Ciudadana)and the Foundation Q'ellkaj. PC observed the elections inside and outside of the country. For the elections abroad, PC had volunteers in consulates and embassies of the foreign countries. References: www.elcomercio.com (8 de Septiembre de 2006) TSE firma convenio con OEA para vigilancia de comicios www.elcomercio.com (25 de Octubre de 2006) En la final no habrá envío rápido de votos www.elcomercio.com (1 de Enero de 2007) PC afianza su credibilidad en duro proceso
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