"Yes or no"? What does it take for one of these options to win in the referendum on February 5 in Ecuador?

Ecuador: the economy of the popular consultation 6:03

(CNN Spanish) --

Ecuadorian voters are preparing to go to the polls this February 5 to elect their provincial authorities, the members of the Citizen Participation Council and decide on the eight constitutional reform questions raised by President Guillermo Lasso .

13,450,047 people are authorized to vote and the budget for the referendum alone is about US$18 million, according to the National Electoral Council (CNE).

The plebiscite promoted by the Government has as its objective that citizens express whether or not they agree with the extradition of Ecuadorians who have committed transnational crimes, the formation of a Fiscal Council that elects and regulates the servers of the Attorney General's Office, reduce the number of assembly members, regulate the proliferation of political movements, reconsider the designation of State control authorities, modify the process of designation of the Citizen Participation Council, environmental care in protected areas and the delivery of compensation to the communities and towns that support the generation of environmental services.

• What is voted in the elections and referendum on February 5 in Ecuador?

What is required for the “yes” or “no” vote to win in the referendum in Ecuador?

Voters will be able to mark the electoral ballot on the plebiscite with one of the options “yes” or “no” in each of the eight questions.

Unlike presidential elections, null or blank votes "will not be counted," according to Jairo Gavilanes, zonal director of the Democracy Institute, an entity attached to the National Electoral Council, in charge of the process.

Gavilanes told CNN that "half plus one of the votes" is needed for one of the response options to be imposed, that is, to approve or deny the questions.

"We must have half plus one of the 'yes' or in the case of 'no' so that one of the consultations, ideas for legislating or changes in the constitutional articles proposed by President Guillermo Lasso can be approved or rejected," Gavilanes said. .

In addition, Gavilanes asked citizens to find out in order to go to the polls with prior knowledge of what will be elected on February 5 and the content of the ballot papers.

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Campaigns for "yes" and "no"

The electoral campaign for the February 5 elections began on January 3 and will end on February 2.

The Electoral Council determined an "electoral promotion fund" for US$ 807,002 so that the 6 political parties and movements previously approved for the electoral campaign specifically for the referendum can campaign for one of the options they support.

"The Electoral Promotion Fund is the exclusive amount of state financing that political subjects will have for the hiring of electoral advertising in the written press, radio, television, billboards and digital media during the electoral campaign," the electoral authority specified. it's a statement.

Model of the ballot paper for the 2023 referendum

The ballot paper approved by the electoral authority for the plebiscite will allow full viewing of each of the questions raised by President Guillermo Lasso.

Prior to each question, the National Electoral Council makes a brief context of each question and on the front of the ballot includes texts that contain the "annexes" related to each question.

The CNE ordered that a single A3 size ballot be used, with three levels of security.

Organizations and political parties approved for the 2023 referendum campaign

Campaign for the “yes”: Partido Avanza (List 8) and Movimiento CREO (List 21).

Campaign for the “no”: Popular Unity Party (List 2), Citizen Revolution Political Movement (List 5), Ecuadorian Socialist Party (List 17) and the General Union of Workers of Ecuador (UGTE).

Referendum