New Ecuador Constitution in May

Quito, Dec 21 (Prensa Latina) The Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly will conclude the Constitution by May 2008, announced the Alianza Pais movement.

Assembly members should approve the Constitution on May 20 and 45 days later it will be sent to the people in a referendum for its ratification, according to the Alianza Pais schedule, broadcast by national press media.

The legislators are currently defining work agendas to clarify the mechanisms of writing the new political constitution according to citizen proposals and the project presented by the National Council of Higher Education.

If the text is approved in the referendum then the next step is to call for general elections on October of 2008.

Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, who defends the proposal of one reelection for all high officials, will participate.

Local radio stations announced that the schedule was established in a meeting last week between Augusto Barrera, the link between the government and the Assembly, and the Alianza Pais movement.

It isnót ruled out that after general elections the Legislature or a commission chosen by the Constitutent Assembly will continue to function until the new Congress is set up in January of 2009.