Voting has begun in Ecuador for the referendum called by President Daniel Noboa. Over 13.9 million Ecuadorians are called to the polls to answer four questions, including those proposing the establishment of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution and to allow the re-establishment of foreign military bases.
The other two questions proposed by Noboa contemplate reducing the number of members of the National Assembly (Parliament) from 151 to 73 representatives and eliminating public financing for political parties, so they can only be funded with private resources.
A total of 4,463 polling stations were enabled to answer 'Yes' or 'No' to these questions. In Ecuadorian territory, they began opening their doors at 7:00 local time (12:00 GMT) and will remain open for ten hours until 17:00 (22:00 GMT), at which time they will close and the count will begin.
Voting is also taking place abroad, where 470,000 Ecuadorians are eligible, the majority in the United States, Spain, and Italy.
Noboa, who was re-elected president this April until 2029, has presented the process for a new constitution, considering that the current charter, promoted by former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) upon coming to power and in force since 2008, hinders facing organized crime with a 'harder hand' as well as attracting investment and creating jobs.
The trigger that led Noboa to seek a new constitution were the rulings of the Constitutional Court that annulled emblematic laws of his new mandate, for having been processed on an express basis and containing provisions considered unconstitutional by the high court for violating fundamental rights.
In turn, the president proposed to eliminate the prohibition in the current Constitution that prevents the establishment of foreign military bases, which in 2009 led the United States to leave the Manta base after a decade of presence at that location. Now Noboa is in talks with the Donald Trump administration for the U.S. to have two bases on the Ecuadorian coast, thus recovering a strategic point in the South Pacific.
