Ecuador’s government rejects impeachment against President Lasso

The Government of Ecuador rejected ” categorically ” yesterday’s request for impeachment against President Guillermo Lasso, filed by 59 legislators in the National Assembly (unicameral Congress) for alleged crimes against public administration.

The rejection was made public through an official statement released by the General Secretariat of Communication of the Presidency, in which the action is considered an attempt at destabilization.

“Said lawsuit totally lacks political and legal elements that allow sustaining a process against the chief of state, having as its only objective to attack the institutionality of the Ecuadorian State and democracy itself,” the statement said.

For such reasons, it added, “this impeachment is not an act of oversight but one more attempt to destabilize the National Assembly in less than two years”.

“In the face of these actions, the Government of Ecuador will continue to focus on addressing the main concerns of Ecuadorians,” the statement concluded.

The Government’s reaction came after 59 legislators from various political parties and movements in the National Assembly filed today, Thursday, a formal request for impeachment against President Lasso, which could lead to his removal from office.

The petition was delivered at the Legislative Branch headquarters, in Quito, by Assemblywoman Viviana Veloz of the Union for Hope Movement (Unes), akin to former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa (2007-2017).

In addition to Unes, the Social Christian Party, Izquierda Democrática, Pachakutik and Independientes supported the impeachment.

The cause of the impeachment is for alleged crimes of extortion, bribery, embezzlement or illicit enrichment, known as crimes against public administration, provided for in the Ecuadorian Constitution.

The impeachment trial derives from investigations carried out against the President in the case known as “Encuentro”, related to an alleged corruption scheme in public companies and, in addition, for alleged links of the Government with the Albanian mafia (Albanian organized crime) and drug trafficking.

To initiate the impeachment trial, a month-long procedure must be followed, requiring a ruling of admissibility from the Constitutional Court.

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