The EU EOM considers that the prompt and speedy application of the National Registry Law (Ley del Registro Civil de las Personas -RENAP) must be a priority, as well as the establishment of a single identification document, to replace the cédula de vecindad, as soon as possible, as the basic document for the creation of the voter register.

The current voter register should serve as the basis for the creation of the future voter register, although the latter must be, at least partly based on the new civil registries contemplated in the National Registry Law. Doubtlessly, the new civil registration process, will be implemented gradually, therefore it would be unviable to immediately eliminate the previous one, without putting the right of suffrage of those previously registered at risk, in case they may not be able to register themselves in the new civil registry.

As a matter of urgency, INEC should start work to improve the current voter register, removing double registration, under age entries, entries without pictures and other shortcomings. This should be undertaken with a view to ensuring public and political confidence at all stages of the process.

After the public verification period, INEC should undertake all necessary corrections and again display the voter register at voter registration centre level. Permanent voter registration cards should be issued once the process has been concluded well in advance of the local government elections.

Political parties should be provided with copies of the voter register in a timely manner and, in order to ensure accountability and transparency, a full breakdown of figures should be published.

The time span between the cut-off date and the Election Day should be shortened in order for voters to be able to make changes and updates closer to E-Day.

After the verification period the TSE should undertake the necessary corrections and again display the voter register at cantonal or parish levels at least 15 days before the Election Day.

The Civil Registry should be improved in order to fulfil its role and to ensure that all citizens are registered and provided with ID Cards, which is essential to the full registration of Ecuadorian citizens with voting rights. More mobile teams should be used to register Ecuadorians living in remote and less accessible areas.

The NEC should undertake a comprehensive public registration and verification exercise of the voter register prior to the 2008 local government elections to provide eligible voters with the opportunity to register.

In line with the electoral law the provisional voter register should be publicly displayed for voters to verify their names and scrutinise it for false entries and any possible errors.

A display and challenge period is required at the end of each registration update, to include the whole voter register, not only the updated portion. The regulation needs to be amended to allow for this, providing the timeframes and the procedure for making challenges, and for removing ineligible names. It should also specify a mechanism for the Parties and Candidates to be able to verify the data effectively, i.e. in an electronic format.

In the longer term, a civil registration process is needed, which would provide more reliable base documents (such as a birth certificate or I.D), against which checks could be made. There would need to be a permanent civil registry in place for updates to be made, in particular deaths. One of the advantages of a civil registry is that information can be extracted from it for different services or Ministries, such as education, health and taxes. Another is that it provides a permanent structure for the election administration, which is in this way always ready for elections.

Etablir, à bref délais, des procédures pour l’entretien et la gestion du fichier électoral national. La mise en place de ces procédures est indispensable à l’élaboration d’un plan pour la gestion post-électorale de cette base de données acceptée par l’ensemble des acteurs du processus.

Outre la gestion matérielle du fichier, il conviendrait également de s’interroger sur les modalités administratives de gestion, en particulier en ce qui concerne l’établissement de procédures de type Etat civil, indispensable au maintien de l’intégrité du fichier, par exemple en terme de déclaration de décès. En l’absence de telles procédures, la durée de vie d’un fichier électoral est, en effet, très limitée.

Por otra parte, los mecanismos establecidos por ley para reinscribir a los ciudadanos erróneamente excluidos del padrón electoral son deficientes, tanto por lo que respecta a su procedimiento como en cuanto a su ejecución. Por este motivo, la MOE-UE sugiere que se publique en fecha temprana la lista de depurados. Además, se debería proporcionar tanto a ciudadanos como a los jurados electorales información más precisa y puntual sobre las posibilidades de corrección. Se podría considerar dar a los notarios electorales el mandato de reinscribir a los votantes erróneamente excluidos.

Alternativement, une procédure de « confirmation » des personnes en possession d’une carte d’électeur mais ne figurant pas sur les listes électorales pourrait être envisagée auprès des structures locales de la CEI. Les données figurant sur la carte électorale pourraient alors être scrupuleusement recueillies afin d’être ultérieurement transmises au Centre national de traitement pour intégration sur les listes électorales. Une réflexion devrait être menée sur l’opportunité de procéder à l’enregistrement, dans ces bureaux fixes, d’électeurs n’ayant pu être inscrits précédemment.

Annual Updates of Register of Voters: Implementation of the annual update of Register of Voters in accordance with the Electoral Act requirement, and the institution of a permanent and public voters’ database would improve the quality of the electoral roll. Political parties should be given the opportunity to observe all stages of the updating of the register.

Incentives to those registering voters should favour 'quality' over 'quantity'.

In the long run, voter cards could be replaced by the requirement for voters to justpresent their national photo identification cards on polling day. Such measure would reduce the financial and operational burden of future elections.

Se aconseja dar mayor atención a mejorar la relación entre las instituciones directamente involucradas en la gestión de las elecciones y otras instituciones, como el Registro Civil y el Instituto Nacional de Migración, cuyas funciones tienen un impacto relevante en el registro efectivo de votantes.

The procedures for civil registration should be updated, simplified and standardised in all municipalities. The system of civil registration should be computerised from the outset in all municipalities and placed effectively under the control either of a specialised division of the CSE, or of a different governmental agency. Specific geo-indexing parameters such as settlement divisions or new address codes could be introduced to simplify identification and future updates. A thorough reform of the Citizen Identification Law could regulate the reorganisation of the system.

More efficient mechanisms to verify and eliminate double registrations and communicate changes of status and deaths should be put in place, with the CSE needing to take the lead on this, rather than relying on citizens’ initiative.

More efficient and routine civic education strategies should be devised to inform the rural and disadvantaged populations of the need to be civilly registered. Application for civil registration should be free of charge for all citizens. The normal registration procedure should be extended to all individuals until they are five years of age

Each ID card application should continue to be made at the municipal level but the review process should be handled only at the central level, with the establishment of a clear set of procedures to verify its veracity and any inconsistencies. Consideration should be given to the automatic entry in the voter register of all citizens who reach voting age without the need to fill a specific application.

The effective ‘rolling’ voter registration programme should be continued, with a particular focus on widening the registration of women voters and voters from minority communities.