Ecuador to hold Constituent Assembly elections on Sept. 30

People's Daily Online, April 24, 2007

Ecuador will hold elections for the Constituent Assembly on Sept. 30, the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) announced Tuesday.

TSE President Jorge Acosta said the electoral body will oversee the election of 130 assembly members, who will have full powers to reform the national institutions and write a new Constitution.

The candidates will register on May 4, and the electoral campaign will last from Aug. 14 to Sept. 27.

According to the statute, 100 representatives will be elected in provinces, 24 at national level and six among overseas Ecuadorians, including two from Europe, two from the United StatesCanada and two for those living in Latin America. and

The Constituent Assembly will be installed in November or December of this year. According to the functionary statute, it will have 180 days, with a possible 60-day extension, to write a new Constitution and reform the country's institutions.

The draft of the new constitution will be submitted to a national referendum in 2008.

The results of the referendum held on April 15 showed a landslide for the government-backed reform, proposed by President Rafael Correa, who came into power in January. He advocates drafting a new constitution to replace the 1998 version.