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Ecuador POLITICAL DYNAMICS
Political Parties
The 1967 constitution was the first to introduce provisions for
political parties. The 1979 Constitution attempts to strengthen the
party-based system by giving parties state protection and financial
assistance. For a party to receive state financial aid, it must
have obtained at least 5 percent of the votes in elections for
national and provincial deputies, councillors, and council members.
In these elections, the parties are prohibited from forming
alliances; each party is obliged to run its own candidates.
Alliances are allowed, however, in elections for president and vice
president, mayors, and prefects.
The Constitution apportions state financial aid to legally
recognized parties as follows: 60 percent in equal parts to each
party and the remaining 40 percent according to the votes obtained
in the last national elections. Although the parties also receive
contributions from their affiliates, they may not receive, directly
or indirectly, financial donations from individuals or groups that
have contracts with the state or from companies, institutions, or
foreign states.
Article 37, which was widely debated prior to the holding of a
popular referendum in June 1986, gives legally recognized parties
a type of monopoly because only they can run candidates in an
election. Whereas the Constitution gives any citizen the right to
be elected, Article 37 prohibits a citizen from running as an
independent candidate and requires candidates to be affiliated with
a political party. Salgado observed that the party affiliation
requirement probably strengthens the party system, but it does so
by compromising the political right of any citizen to run for
office.
Although Ecuadorians over eighteen years of age may join a
political party, under the Law of Political Parties this right does
not apply to active-duty members of the armed forces and National
Police, ministers of any religious denomination, or anyone
sentenced to jail for defrauding the state (at least until after a
period double that of the prison sentence). The law also prohibits
more than one party affiliation. The penalty of violating this law
is loss of citizenship rights for one year.
The Constitution sets out the organizational requirements for
a political party. It must have a party doctrine and a program of
political action that are in accord with the national interests. A
party must keep count of the number of its members and be organized
on a national level; that is, its organization must extend to no
fewer than ten provinces, including two of the three most populated
provinces (which in the late 1980s were Guayas, Pichincha, and
Manabí). The Law of Political Parties also establishes that the
membership of a party must constitute no fewer than 1.5 percent of
the registered voters in the last electoral turnout.
A grouping or political movement must seek TSE recognition as
a party according to a procedure laid out in the Law of Political
Parties. To participate in elections, a party must have been
legally recognized six months before the holding of these
elections. In the late 1980s, Ecuador had sixteen legal parties.
Any changes in the higher leadership of a party or in its
statutes must be reported to the TSE within eight days. The
principal leader of a party and the members of its higher
leadership body serve two-year terms. The principal leader may be
reelected only once, after a two-year period, for another term.
When a party splits and two directorates are formed, the TSE must
determine which faction is legitimate. To that end, each faction
has a thirty-day period in which to present its case. The TSE then
has fifteen days in which to decide on the case, and its decision
is final. Other party problems generally are resolved internally
and in accordance with the party's statutes and regulations. The
party's national leadership or the elements in conflict may,
however, submit their problem to the decision of the TSE.
According to the Law of Political Parties, the TSE may abolish
a party that decides to dissolve itself, incorporates or joins with
another party, does not participate in general elections in at
least ten provinces, forms paramilitary organizations, or does not
respect the required nonpolitical character of the active-duty
armed forces and National Police. As originally formulated, the Law
of Political Parties also provided that if a party failed to obtain
at least 5 percent of the votes in each of two successive
elections, the TSE could dissolve it by withdrawing its legal
recognition. That provision was not in effect in 1988, however,
having been declared unconstitutional because of a technicality;
whereas the Law of Political Parties spoke of a required "electoral
percentage," the Constitution refers only to an "electoral
quotient."
Unless it is dissolving itself, a party being abolished by the
TSE has sixty days in which to present documentation in its own
defense. Notice of the abolishment of a party and the cancellation
of its registration are published in the Registro Oficial del
Estado and sent to the news media.
The Law of Political Parties guarantees parties the right to
organize meetings, marches, and public demonstrations. A party must
submit a written request to hold a public march or demonstration at
least forty-eight hours in advance. The authority may reject a
request only if another demonstration will be held at the same
place, day, and hour, but will approve another date and hour and
must act on the request within twenty-four hours. A rejection may
be appealed to the TPE. Any march or public demonstration must also
be authorized by the police authority in the provincial capitals,
by the national commissioner (comisario nacional) in the
cantons, and by the political lieutenant in the parishes. Parties
do not require authorization to hold nonpublic meetings, but are
obligated to inform the aforementioned authorities in advance.
Counterdemonstrations are prohibited.
The Law of Political Parties also guarantees the right of
parties to propagandize their programs. If, however, political
propaganda or statements disseminated by news media impugn the
honor or good name of someone, that individual may demand that the
offender publish a retraction. If necessary, the individual may
appeal to the TPE to have this demand carried out. Under the law,
all means of social communication not owned by a party must provide
access to all parties and may not enter into exclusive political
propaganda contracts. Lastly, political proselytism in schools and
colleges is prohibited, as is coercing someone to join a party, to
vote for a candidate, to participate in marches or demonstrations,
or to make financial contributions.
Data as of 1989
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