Elections in Ecuador: Cristina Kirchner celebrated …

The vice president, Cristina Kirchner, celebrated the decision of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador to allow the candidacy of the economist correista Andres Arauz for the presidential elections next February, still awaiting ratification.

“A few minutes ago, the certification of the qualification of the presidential binomial by the Union for Hope (Unes), the party of former President Rafael Correa, arrived at the CNE,” said the head of the electorate. , Diana Atamaint |, during a press conference.

“The Contentious Electoral Tribunal (TCE) has notified that the candidacy is already firm, so so far we have 16 firm presidential pairs,” the official added.

The former president quoted a tweet from Arauz himself, in which she thanked all the support received internationally, and added the V-shaped finger icon, as a way to celebrate the novelty.

With this news, an appeal filed with the TCE by supporters of former President Lucio Gutiérrez was rendered ineffective. This petition aimed to prevent Unes candidates from participating in the general elections on February 7.

Arauz said a few days ago that the government of President Lenín Moreno was seeking to postpone the elections to complete its program of privatizing state-owned enterprises.

On December 4, the Senate Speaker had already expressed her public support for Arauz, in a post that was uploaded to her Twitter account, where she can be seen with the leader in her own office.

The image was accompanied by the following text: “With Andrés Aráuz Galarza, until today, a candidate banned for the presidency of Ecuador by the alliance Unión por la Esperanza. Does Lenín Moreno really want the rest of the world to believe that there is democracy in Ecuador? “

Last Wednesday, Arauz called for “citizen” and “international” oversight after seeing his candidacy repeatedly blocked in challenges he deemed inappropriate.

“What Ecuador is going through is a blow to democracy. The process was not born now, there have been years of political persecution and threats against any Correista candidate, ”he said during a discussion with journalists held in Quito.

His presidential formula, in which he is accompanied by journalist Rabascall as a candidate for the vice-presidency, is the only one of the 16 presented not yet to have the qualification of the CNE, which he accused of serving the political interests of the government of Lenín Moreno.