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Press Release

OAS Mission in Ecuador Highlights Democratic Participation and Calls for Challenges to be Resolved through Institutions

The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) for the elections in Ecuador acknowledged today the contribution of Ecuadorian citizens to an orderly Election Day, and called on the candidates to resolve any challenges to the results through institutional means.

The Mission, led by the former President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernández, deployed 77 observers in 19 provinces of the country for the second round of the presidential election. During the pre-electoral stage, the OAS/EOM met with the teams of the two candidate tickets that were on the ballot, as well as with electoral authorities, government officials, and representatives of civil society and the diplomatic community.

On Election Day, OAS observers visited 480 voting centers, where they observed the process from the opening of the polling stations until the counting of the ballots. Later, they witnessed the transfer of the statements of poll to the area where they would be scanned and transmitted, and the processing of these at the provincial election boards. Mission experts were also present at the Command Center, the CNE Data Center, the ITC Monitoring Center, and ECU911.

The polling stations observed opened, on average, at 7:14 a.m. and had all the necessary electoral materials for the voting. The observers noted the high percentage of delegates from both political organizations who were present at the polling stations throughout the day, as well as the large presence of security forces.

The Mission ascertained that some of the recommendations made by the OAS following the February 19 elections were implemented, including the use of a simple ballot box separate from the voting booth, and the elimination of the red marker to fill out the draft statement of poll. These measures facilitated the process of setting up the polling stations and sped up the voting and transmission of results.

As this was an election between two presidential tickets, the vote counting at the polling stations went quickly, as did the posting of official results. The Mission again regrets the political use made of exit polls that were published minutes before the voting had closed. The large disparity between the results of the different exit polls generated uncertainty among the electorate and led both candidates to declare themselves winners before the official results were published by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The observers were deployed based on a random sample that represented the population density of voters in the country. As in all OAS missions, these sites were determined with complete independence and were not communicated to the electoral authority or to any of those involved in the process.

The Mission compared the information on results collected by its observers at the polling stations with the information contained in the statements of poll published by the CNE. It noted that there were no discrepancies between the statements of poll observed and the official data. The observers reported that when the polls closed, delegates from both political organizations were present at almost all the polling stations observed, and these delegates were given a copy of the official statement of poll once the votes had been counted.

Recognizing that the CNE is the only institution with the legal authority to present official results of the electoral process, the Mission abides by these results, with due recognition of the fact that those who wish to challenge them have the right to do so.

The OAS/EOM takes note of the complaints made public by Alianza CREO-SUMA. For these complaints to be cleared up, they should go through institutional channels and should be handled by the competent authorities, following the principles of legality, certainty, and transparency. Freedom of expression and freedom to demonstrate are fundamental rights, but they should always be exercised in a peaceful framework, avoiding violence and confrontations.

The Mission will remain on the ground in the coming days. The OAS/EOM has accompanied the electoral process in Ecuador since January, deploying a total of 143 observers. The Mission will present a report to the OAS Permanent Council with recommendations based on its observations of the general elections and the second round of the presidential election.

The Mission thanks the electoral and government authorities for their openness, which enabled the delegation to collect the necessary information to carry out its work, and thanks the Ecuadorian people for their warm welcome. Finally, the EOM appreciates the contributions made by Argentina, Chile, Korea, Spain, the United States, Honduras, Israel, Mexico, and Serbia, which made the deployment of this Mission possible.

Reference: E-021/17