ECUADOR, Quito, (teleSUR) — Former Latin American presidents led by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva (Brazil), Jose Mujica, (Uruguay), Ernesto Samper (Colombia), and Evo Morales (Bolivia), Saturday asked Ecuador’s administration to end the proscriptions of candidates ahead of the country’s elections in 2021.
“We express our deep concern about the Ecuadorian electoral authorities’ decisions to banned the “Citizen’s Revolution” political movement, in which former president Rafael Correa participates,” the ex-presidents’ group stated.
“We urged president Lenin Moreno to respect national and international standards to restore democracy in Ecuador,” they added.
On September 15, Ecuador’s National Electoral Council (CNE) eliminated from the Registry of Political Parties “Fuerza Compromiso Social”, the party in which the “Citizen’s Revolution” found a space to participate in the 2021 elections.
“This political grouping has been legally approved for four years, and it has partici pated in three electoral processes. The elimination came two days before the candidates’ registration period,” the leaders said.
This last-minute decision violates what it is established in the United Nations (UN) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Organization of American States (OAS) Human Rights Convention, and the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador itself.
“All of these statutes guarantee the right to free association, non-discrimination, and political participation of the citizenry,” they assured.
In the last few days, Citizen’s Revolution managed to get included at another political organization, “Democratic Center”, to allow them a new space for participation.
However, the CNE assured that they would not accept the Democratic Center’s registration because of the movement’s “non-existent legal precepts.”
” Outlawing and persecution continue in Ecuador. An international commitment is essential to fight for the recovery of democracy in that country.”
“This would become a breach of democracy and the marginalization of millions of Ecuadorians who have expressed their willingness to support the political project of the Citizen’s Revolution”, the leader highlighted.
Former presidents such as Manuel Zelaya (Honduras), Alvaro Colom (Guatemala), Tabare Vazquez (Uruguay), Martin Torrijos (Panama), Salvador Sanchez (El Salvador), and Leonel Fernandez (Dominican Republic), joined the claim.
The claim was also signed by Parlasur president Oscar Laborde, and former foreign ministers, such as Celso Amorin, Jorge Taiana, David Choquehucanca, and Jose Miguel Insulsa, who was also OAS secretary-general.