Constitutional Referendum

September 28th

Description of Electoral System:

(courtesy of IFES election guide, Ecuador´s Constitution and Electoral Law of Ecuador)

The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 4-year term.  In the National Congress (Congreso Nacional) 100 members are appointed by proportional representation to serve 4-year terms. Each of the country's 22 provinces returns a minimum of two deputies plus one additional seat for every 200,000 inhabitants.

The vote is personal, mandatory (except for citizens over 75 years old) and secret. The Electoral Organism is responsible for the correct and normal development of the elections. They are organism of the Suffrage: The Electoral Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral), The Electoral Provincial Courts (Cortes Electorales Provinciales) and the Receiving Assembly of Vote (Juntas Receptoras del Voto). 

The Electoral Supreme Court with seat in Quito and jurisdiction in all the national territory, is the maximum electoral organism, is a legal of public right, independent institution and its function is to organize, to direct, to watch and to guarantee the electoral process.

The electoral organisms have privative competition to solve all concerning the application of the electoral law. The Electoral Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo Electoral) is an independent organism, being the provincial courts decentralized organisms that make their functions according to establishes the Electoral Supreme Court.

The type of election for the President election is absolute majority with second electoral round. For the Senate is proportional with open list and in block, with the formula of the Natural Quotient/higher rest. It does not have personal vote and barrier of the 0,3% of the natural quotient.

Electoral systems snapshot

(Courtesy of International IDEA)

*Click on links for term definitions

WANT MORE ELECTION RELATED STATS FOR ECUADOR? Go to "election databases" on the left-hand menu of this page OR "comparative data" on the right-hand menu and choose your area of interest.

Most recent election

(courtesy of wikipedia)

On 15 October 2006, Ecuador held a general election. The voters stood to elect a new President, a new National Congress, as well as other positions.

Since no candidate was able to secure the needed majority of the presidential vote in the first round, a run-off election was held on 26 November. After the results of this election became clear, Rafael Correa was duly sworn in as president for a four-year term on 15 January 2007.