A day of the elections, Ecuador declared the state of exception in Quito and seven provinces for narco violence

Ecuador declared this Saturday in emergency to seven of its 24 provincesas well as Quito and to the penitentiary system, given an increase in drug trafficking band violence.

Infobae

The measure, for 60 days, entered into force A day of presidential ballotwhich will play the president Daniel Noboa And the leftist opponent Luisa Gonzálezand after registering a murder every hour in January and February, the beginning of the year bloods since there are reports.

The state of exception governs for the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Santa Elena and El Oro and the Amazon Orellana and Sucumbíosin addition to the Ecuadorian capitalthe convulsive mining town of Camilo Ponce Enriquez and the prisons of the nation.

Noboa imposed the state of emergency before «The increase in violence indices, crimes commitment and intensity of the perpetration of illicit by organized armed groups”, According to the decree.

Suspended the rights to the inviolability of address and correspondence and freedom of meeting, and ordered a Seven -hour nocturnal touch in several localities of Guayas, Los Ríos, Orellana and Sucumbíos, in addition to Ponce Enriquez.

The president of Ecuador and candidate, Daniel Noboa (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa/Archive)

Noboa, in power since November 2023, has decreed permanent states of exception to face the attack of the narco groups, which in blood and fire disputes the control of the business, creating terror among the population.

The homicide rate dropped from the record of 47 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023 to 38 in 2024, despite which in the last year it was the highest in Latin America, according to the specialized group Insight Crime.

The president declared Ecuador in 2024 Internal armed conflictwhich allows him to keep the military in the streets with the order to neutralize about twenty narco bands that maintain links with international cartels and those that called «terrorists» and «belligerent.»

This Sunday Ecuador will live one of the most at odd and polarized presidential elections From his return to democracy. Daniel Noboathe acting president and candidate for National Democratic Action (DNA), faces in the second round of Luisa Gonzálezof the Citizen-Secretary Revolution Coalition, of former President Rafael Correa. The polls will open at 07:00 (Quito time) and close at 5:00 p.m. The first results are expected at 18:00.

Luisa González, presidential candidate of the Citizen Revolution Movement (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara/Archive)

Both candidates closed their campaign last Thursday. From 23:59 of that day the electoral silence that will run until 17:00 of the election day, according to the electoral norm. Also, from the noon on Friday the call also governs Dry lawwhich prohibits the sale, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages until Monday at 12:00.

In this ballot, in addition, new restrictions will be applied: by resolution of the National Electoral Council (CNE), voters are prohibited from entering their vote With mobile, electrical or electronic phones. This decision, adopted on March 13, was applauded by the Ministry of Government, which considered it a measure to avoid the «coerced vote ”or the» vaccinated vote «thus reducing the risk of undue pressures, purchase of votes or intimidation, particularly by criminal organizations.

Another novelty is the relocation of ten electoral enclosures in six provinces of the country – Cotopaxi, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, Zamora Chinchipe, Manabí and Loja – due to damage to infrastructure OA that these spaces are being used as shelters for families affected by winter.

The CNE reported that these measures seek to guarantee the normal development of the democratic process and safeguard the safety of voters.