The ‘Yes’ has a wide advantage in nine of the eleven questions that make up the plebiscite held this Sunday in Ecuador at the initiative of the president Daniel Noboawhile the ‘No’ also registers a significant advantage in two of them, when 10% of the votes have been counted.
The questions where the ‘Yes’ win are those related to strengthening the fight against organized crime, while the ‘No’ is ahead on the issues to accept international arbitrations on investments in any jurisdiction and to make labor contracting more flexible through contracts. for hours.
This referendum was carried out under the “internal armed conflict” that Noboa declared to the organized crime gangs, to which the escalation of violence is attributed that has led the Andean country to be among the countries with the most homicides in Latin America, with a rate of 45 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
In the questions that the ‘Yes’ wins, there is a support of between 73% and 62%, while the ‘No’ has 66.28% in the question of hourly contracts and 62.39% in the proposal of international arbitrations.
The results are in line with an exit poll that anticipated that Noboa failed to achieve popular support for his economic reforms.
Regarding security issues, Noboa is on track to immediately arrange for the deployment of the Armed Forces to support the Police in operations against organized crime, without the need to issue states of exception that only allowed this function during a limited time.
It would also be approved that Ecuadorians can be extradited when they are claimed by the Justice of other countries, as well as the constitution of a system of constitutional courts.
Other questions where ‘Yes’ wins require a bill to be processed in the National Assemblysuch as the toughening of penalties for crimes related to organized crime and the elimination of prison benefits for some of these criminal figures.
Also the creation of a specific crime of possession and carrying of weapons for the exclusive use of the Police and Armed Forces and that these can be equipped with weapons seized from criminal gangs.
Likewise, Ecuadorians have given the majority vote in favor of the military controlling access to prisons, which have become the epicenter of the crisis of violence that the country is experiencing, and allowing assets of illicit origin to be expropriated from express way, to hit the economic structures of organized crime.
The plebiscite had the participation of 72% of the more than 13.6 million Ecuadorians summoned to the polls, and was marked by the murder of the director of the prison of The rodeoin the city of Portoviejo, and the beginning of a mutiny in the Quevedo prison, which left at least four injured.
The week before the vote was also marked by the murders of two mayors of towns where there are illegal mining activities, and a severe energy crisis that has forced the Government to make blackouts of up to eight hours a day to ration the supply of electricity. electricity. EFE (I)
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