Referendum in Ecuador.

• Author: Trujillo, Amparo
• Position: OAS

IN RESPONSE TO an invitation by Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the OAS deployed an Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) for the April 15 referendum, in which that country voted to install a Constituent Assembly. The decision to create this body, which reform the Constitution, won the approval of 82 percent of Ecuadorian voters.

OAS Secretary General Joss Miguel Insulza expressed his support of President Rafael Correa's efforts to advance the constitutional process. Referring to the chronic instability that has affected Ecuador in recent decades, Insulza described the referendum as a milestone in the process of the country's institutional recovery.

Former Chilean Minister Enrique Correa, who represented Secretary General Insulza in the observation of the Ecuadorian plebiscite, noted that the process took place in a normal and peaceful environment.

The OAS Mission--comprised of 36 observers from 14 countries--obtained a clear picture of all political and technical aspects of the process, including the organization of the referendum and the role played by the political organizations, election and government authorities, the mass media and society...