Quito –
The European parliament He separated from two Spanish citizens accredited to do election observation for the national elections to be held in Ecuador next Sunday, February 7.
“No Member of the European Parliament has been mandated to observe or comment on this electoral process on behalf of the European Parliament. If a Member of the European Parliament decides to attend the elections as an observer, he will do so on personal title and not, in any case, by means of statements or actions, link their participation in the European Parliament ”, quotes an official communication from this Parliament attached to the European Union (EU).
Manu Pineda and Juan Carlos Monedero were to be accredited as international observers for next Sunday’s election, and their political statements on their social media caused discomfort among members of the National Electoral Council (CNE).
Especially the vice president, Enrique Pita, who in a letter to the President, Diana Atamaint, called on the two citizens to revoke their credentials as international observers.
Yesterday, Atamaint acknowledged the concern and pointed out that these “statements made via social networks, the media with criteria that, without having verified the information, without having requested official information from the electoral authority, may raise doubts about the transparency of the process. “
Pita also insisted yesterday from his Twitter account that Pineda and Monedero – in the case of the latter, whose trip is paid for by the Ecuadorian state – “persist in delegitimizing the national elections with statements ideologically aligned with a presidential candidate. request. have their credentials revoked. “
His request is based on the fact that the Code of Democracy and respective regulations stipulate that those who conduct election observation must refrain from making political statements about the electoral process.
The European Parliament insisted that they would not conduct an election observation, so will not comment on the process or its results, and that it is the “European Union that is present in this electoral process through a mission of electoral experts organized by the European Action Service. Exterior “.
For Sunday’s national elections, the CNE has accredited a total of 2,540 national election observers and 260 international observers. The latter, from the European Union, (EU), the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Union of Electoral Organizations (Uniore), the A-WEB, the Diplomatic Corps, among others. (I)