MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuador: President Lasso dissolves Parliament, calls for early elections

Lasso, 67, took office on May 24, 2021, for a four-year term

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has dissolved his country's Parliament -which was trying to impeach him out of office- and called for early elections by resorting to a procedure outlined in the Constitution, it was reported in Quito. In the meantime, Lassso will run the country through Constitutional Court monitored decrees.

The move by the right-wing president was rejected by former leftist president and opposition leader Rafael Correa, who accused Lasso of staging a “coup d'état,” and by Ecuador's indigenous movement, which said it will study its response to the decision.

The heads of the Armed Forces and the Police quickly endorsed the legality of Lasso's measure and warned that they will act firmly in the face of protests.

In a broadcast message, Lasso said he signed a decree dissolving the National Assembly, giving him powers to rule by decree until the next elections, which, should be held before October. He also accused the NA of wanting to “destabilize the government, democracy and the State”, and said he made the decision “due to serious political crisis and internal commotion” under Article 148 of the Constitution.

The Constitution establishes that, within a maximum period of seven days after the publication of the dissolution decree, legislative and presidential elections must be called to complete the current four-year term, which began in 2021 and ends in 2025.

In this scenario, Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) is preparing for the early general elections, CNE President Diana Atamaint told reporters. “In this unprecedented political context, it corresponds to the Electoral Function to assume a new challenge that has to do with calling for early elections in seven days and to carry out the process within 90 days,” she said.

“The deadline to call the elections is May 24, 2023,” she explained. In the next few hours, an electoral calendar must be approved by the plenary of the CNE, she added.

Lasso, 67, took office on May 24, 2021, for a four-year term. Those elected this year must complete the terms of office of Lasso and of the dismissed assembly members, which in both cases end in May 2025.