The run up to next year’s general election in Ecuador took another dramatic twist after a judge in the national Electoral Dispute Tribunal (TCE) lifted a ban on the party of former president Rafael Correa earlier this week (2 August 2020).
The TCE’s decisions means that the FCS, the closest rival to current President Lenin Moreno’s party, are now back in the race.
The judge, Fernando Muñoz, said that the decision to ban Correa’s party was “not express, clear, complete, legitimate or logical” and that the ban was based on a report that “does not have outstanding support nor the logical connection with the facts“.
The CNE still has 72 hours to appeal and potentially strike down the repeal of the ban, so international socialists and Correistas in Ecuador should not count their chickens before they’ve hatched.
Observers have noted that Lenin Moreno’s government looks increasingly weak in the run up to next year’s elections. There were huge protests over austerity measures last October and now the failure of Ecuador’s government to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic has left the government looking fragile.
If the repeal of the ban stands, the potential for the return of a left government in Ecuador next year could be much stronger.
Daniel Forrest
