ECUADORS ELECTIONS ARE BEING UNDERMINED BY FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC
INTERFERENCE
By Mohamed Elmaazi, Sputnik News.
February 27, 2021 | EDUCATE!
Above photo: Screenshot.
Ex-Diplomat Explains.
Before the votes were fully counted in Ecuadors latest elections, one
candidate received a phone call from the US embassy assuring him that he
would be in the second round. Fidel Narvaez, a Ecuadorian diplomat, tells
Sputnik that this is only part of what appears to be a concerted effort to
undermine the election results.
Ecuador is due to have its second round of elections in April. Although the
progressive candidate, Andrés Arauz, won by a large margin, he did not win
by enough to avoid a runoff. However, the parliamentary results via the
National Assembly are final, with the progressive candidates winning more
seats than any other. The results of the presidential and parliamentary
elections reflect an overall rejection of neo-liberalism by the Ecuadorian
population at large.
Fidel Narvaez is the former Counsel and former first secretary to the
Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Narvaez explains that attempts to undermine
Arauz and the Citizens Revolution which backs him, have only increased
since the election, with clear evidence of foreign interference from
countries like the US and Colombia, with the media also playing their part.
Narvaez is a supporter of the Citizens Revolution; Arauz is seen as someone
who would break from the policies of President Lenin Moreno and return to
the policies pursued by his predecessor, Rafael Correa.
Sputnik: Since we last spoke, right after the general election polls closed
in Ecuador, a clearer picture has emerged regarding the final vote tally.
What were the final results?
Fidel Narvaez: Well, the final official results are already known. The
progressive candidate [Andrés Arauz] has won confidently with 32.7 percent
of the vote. Something like 13 points ahead of the second, who is the banker
Guillermo Lasso, [who had] 19.74 percent. And [in third place] is Mr. Yaku
Perez with 19.45 or 19.48 percent. So, theres a very, very small,
difference between the [candidates who arrived in] second and third [place].
Sputnik: And in relation to the National Assembly results?
Fidel Narvaez: The result is for the progressive forces, winning it in a
great deal. If you take into account that the Citizens Revolution has 51
MPs, the indigenous movement has 26 and the social democrats have 17. Thats
a clear majority in parliament. The conservative forces have completely lost
the election.
For clarity, the parliament has a total of 137 assembly members, the results
are as follows:
Citizen Revolution (Correistas in alliance with Centro Democrático): 51;
Pachakutik (the political arm of the indigenous movement): 26;
Christian Social Party (Right wing): 18;
Democratic Left (Social Democracy): 17;
CREO (Guillermo Lassos party): 12.
All the rest are distributed between small marginal parties. The
progressive forces have clearly won the election. Citizen Revolution 51 +
Pachakutik 26 + Democratic Left 17 = 94.
Right-wing forces have lost the election: Social Christian Party 18 + CREO
(Lasso) 12 = 30.
This presents a good opportunity to push forward a progressive agenda in
Ecuador, only if common sense and ideological coherence prevails. However,
we know that Pachakutik and the Social Democrats have been complicit and
supporting Lenin Morenos government in the last four years, so there is a
lot to work on in getting the right agreements in order to push forward a
progressive agenda.
Sputnik: One of the contenders, Yaku Perez, challenged the results, alleging
electoral fraud and calling for a recount. Can you briefly describe what
this was all about?
Fidel Narvaez: Mr. Perez has expressed disagreement with the results. He
feels that hes been disfavoured and is asking for a recount. Thats his
right, theres the right of any candidate to challenge the results if they
dont agree with them. But in order for a recount to proceed, the challenger
needs to come out with some evidence or with some concrete elements to
justify the recount. They have to point out what are the numbers they do not
agree with. Where they think there has been a mistake or a fault. So if they
do not provide that, then the legislation does not allow them just to ask to
open any random ballots. So at this very moment, I understand, this is being
presented by him. But at this moment we dont know to what extent the
recount will proceed. We agree with any [review] that the legislation
allows. Our worry is that this could be used as an excuse to delay, or
postpone, the date of the second round [of elections] which is scheduled for
the 11th of April.
Sputnik: Explain the attempts by government officials to confiscate the
computer databases belonging to the electoral commission.
Fidel Narvaez: The Attorney General and the Comptroller General [who is
supposed to audit finances in government departments] have requested access
to the computer databases, and [their request] has been rejected by the
electoral body. During the election time, the electoral body has special
powers, its above anybody in the Ecuadorian state during the elections.
Anybody who tries to interfere in the elections can be removed from their
post by the electoral body. If they want, they can remove the Attorney
General and the Comptroller General right now, because they have the power
to do so. Though, of course, they havent as of yet.
Sputnik: Whats next if they want to continue to try to do this? Can they
try to get a court order?
Fidel Narvaez: Well, the point is that this is not a legal request. Its not
in the Ecuadorian legislation for them to do so. So hopefully, thats the
end of the matter. The point here is that the Attorney General and
Comptroller General, two of the most sinister figures in Lenin Morenos
government, who have been responsible for the fiercest political persecution
that Ecuador has known in modern history, clearly, clearly its just an
attempt, in our, opinion, to interfere with the election results.
Many other government representatives are showing desperation, [as they see]
that the Citizens Revolution is going to be back in power as a result of
the democratic exercise of the Ecuadorian people. They clearly fear that
when justice returns to Ecuador, they will face legal responsibilities for
many human rights and other kinds of abuses.
Sputnik: How has the OAS dealt with the elections?
Fidel Narvaez: The first technical report form the OAS is fine. Andres
explained it very well in an interview. He said we had met with the OAS
before the election and we warned them very clearly that we are not happy at
all with their role in what happened in Bolivia, which was political. We
understand that the General Secretary may be engaged in politics but we
asked you and trust you to be purely technical in respect of your election
observers. In fact, the OAS delegation has expressed concerns about the
General Attorney and Comptroller General attempting to seize the computer
systems of the electoral body.
Sputnik: There have been concerns regarding foreign interference in
Ecuadors elections after the first round was complete. Who exactly is
involved and how are they interfering?
Fidel Narvaez: Well, this is a good question. Any foreign interference is
obviously concerted with the current government in order to impede us [from]
winning the election. Immediately after the results of the first round, the
Colombian Attorney General arrived in [the capital] Quito to meet the
Ecuadorian Attorney General to discuss alleged information about alleged
illegal financing of Andrés Arauzs campaign, originating from fake news
from Revista Semana in Colombia, which has been totally debunked, because
its obviously fake news. So, this is one example of Lenin Morenos
government trying to stop us from getting back into power.
[Another example of] fake news coming from abroad would be the one coming
from Argentina alleging that Andrés Arauz has already been vaccinated
against COVID, which is not true. Its also been debunked. Andrés Arauz
visited Argentina in December 2020, when the vaccines hadnt arrive yet in
Argentina. In fact, he managed get an agreement from the Argentine
government to supply more than 4 million vaccine [doses] to Ecuador in the
near future. And its also publicly known that Andrés Arauz had COVID,
during the Christmas period. So obviously the story about him being
vaccinated [in Argentina] is fake news. We are facing examples like these on
a daily basis, basically. This story came out right before the election but
it keeps being referred to by Mr. Lasso, who says I dont have the
connections that Mr. Arauz has. No, thats fake. Right now there are a lot
of scandals in Latin America of politicians skipping the queue [to get
vaccinated]. In fact, in Ecuador, there is no queue. We dont have vaccines.
The very few that arrived went to private hospitals for the rich and the
first vaccine went to the mother of the Minister of Health, which is
appalling (this was publicly recognised by the Minister himself when he was
questioned by the press).
I think its worth mentioning also that, candidate Yaku Perez had a
conversation with the American embassy the day after the election, he had a
phone call from the American embassy, assuring him that he will be the one
facing us in the second round. How is that possible? How is it that the
American embassy knows, before the official counting is even finished, who
is going to be in the [second round]?
Sputnik: How do we know Perez received this phone call?
Fidel Narvaez: Because he said it publicly.
Sputnik: Have the Ecuadorian press been repeating the claims you described
from the Colombian and Argentine press?
Fidel Narvaez: Yes. The role of the Ecuadorian press over the last four
years has been shameful, absolutely shameful. Because they have aligned,
totally, with the current government, the most unpopular government in the
region and in recent Ecuadorian history; it has been able to stay in [power]
only with the support and complicity of the majority of the Ecuadorian
press.
Sputnik: On Tuesday and Wednesday (23 and 24 February) there were a series
of killings in an Ecuadorian prison in an apparent gang war that left at
least 79 inmates being killed, according to the BBC. My understanding is
there are those who fear that this incident may be fuelled by attempts to
overturn the election result. What could be the connection between this
incident and the elections?
Fidel Narvaez: We are really concerned about the current government trying
to use any excuse to stop the election from happening. They are so afraid;
we believe they are capable of taking extreme measures. Lets not forget
what happened in Bolivia in 2018, when social violence ended up in a coup
detat and the cancellation of elections that Evo Morales had just one. The
fact that such a violent event happened in different Ecuadorian prisons,
something that had never before happened in Ecuador, could be used and could
extend to violence outside prisons and get to an extreme scenario where the
government could declare a state of emergency and basically either postpone
the elections indefinitely or cancel them and call for a new one.
This might sound very extreme but it is something that we really should
shine a light on. International observers shouldnt see the Ecuadorian
elections as just something that happened in February as the first round and
in April the second round. Theres a concern that the incumbent Ecuadorian
government is negligent in dealing with the situation. If a state of
emergency is declared, this could be used to interfere with the elections.
If you know what I mean