Ecuador’s Constitutional Court approves political trial against President Guillermo Lasso

constitutional Court Ecuador gave the green light to national assembly (Parliament) to conduct a political censorship trial against the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, whom the opposition accuses of embezzlement (waste of public funds).

Possessing six votes from nine judges, who constitute the country’s highest body of constitutional review, Court presented a positive opinion on the “acceptability” of the political process, which national assembly (Parliament) vs head State.

Similarly, the Constitutional Court said the report was approved, although it did not acknowledge the cause of the “concussion,” a crime that the opposition has also blamed on the president since Assembly.

“When reviewing the procedure, it was found that the application submitted and the procedure carried out so far in the National Assembly respected the principles of political legitimacy and due process of law,” the court specified in its ruling.

The High Court also found “insufficient duration of activation” of the figure of impeachment, which, however, does not affect the decision.

“This court calls on the institutions involved in the political process to always act within the canons provided by the Constitution and the rule of law,” he added.

With this ruling, the process will continue in the Legislative Assembly, which will send a report to Control Commission And Political controlwho should prepare a report for discussion at the plenary session parliament.

92 votes for no confidence

The censure of the head of state can only be applied if the Assembly, which consists of 137 legislators, receives a supermajority of at least 92 votes, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the House, and if it does not receive them, the process will be archived.

In addition, legislative action may include a requirement for the prosecutor’s office and other state control bodies to investigate complaints against the president and include them in a possible instruction from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The decision of the Constitutional Court was issued within the time limit established by the regulations, and after last Monday it returned to the draw among its members of the judge-rapporteur on the case, since the first sentence of the decision did not get the six necessary votes.

Judge Richard Ortiz replaced Teresa Nukes as Speaker, whose speech did not receive enough votes, and Constitutional Judge Ali Lozada was also delegated to prepare a new draft resolution, which was approved tonight.

Guillermo Lasso warns of “parliamentary coup”

On the other hand, to William Lasso The opposition accuses him of alleged political responsibility for an alleged corruption plot in state-owned companies that implicates his son-in-law, a businessman Danilo Carrera.

Opponents even claim that since his presidency, he allegedly defended some members of this alleged network, claiming that he influenced the anti-drug police to launch an investigation into alleged connections with the businessman. Daniel Cherres with the drug network.

However, Lasso vehemently denies and accuses the opposition of plotting a “parliamentary coup” against him, as he said Saturday in his speech at the Ibero-American summit held in Santo Domingo.

In June 2022, Lasso had already saved a similar situation by several votes when, in the midst of protests led by an indigenous movement against his government’s economic policies and the high cost of living, the opposition put forward a proposal to impeach the president, which did not flourish.

(As reported by EFE)