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The popular consultation allows citizens to decide on the different political and social issues that affect the country. This mechanism allows people, using their rights, to speak out and decide "on any matter", according to Article 104 of the Ecuadorian Constitution.

However, citizens cannot include in the popular queries questions related to taxes or to the political-administrative organization of the country. 

How is a popular consultation made from the citizenship?

Mauricio Alarcón, a constitutional lawyer, explained to a digital medium that the process works as follows:

  • Questions must be put together.
  • The Constitutional Court reviews the validity of these questions.
  • When the Constitutional Court approves the questions, the National Electoral Council (CNE) gives the petitioners the forms to collect signatures that validate the query.
  • People collect the necessary endorsement signatures.
  • The CNE verifies and validates the signatures.
  • In the event that the signatures are approved and meet the minimum number required, the CNE convenes the electoral process.

 

Consulta Popular, Corte Constitucional

 

For a consultation to take place at the local level, the consultation must have the support of the 10% of people who are registered in the electoral roll of the province or canton. In the case of Quito, to approve the consultation on the preservation of the Chocó Andino, more than 200,000 signatures were needed.

However, the acceptance of the proposal was very well received by the citizens, which is why we collected more than double the necessary signatures in a process full of good moments in which people encouraged us to follow this democratic mechanism.

And of course, the artists, who in the different concerts and presentations showed their support and affection for the care of the Choco Andean

In the event that a query is national, the signatures that are needed must have a support greater than 5% of the register throughout the country. During the last elections, the CNE reported 13.4 million people in the registry. In this sense, the 5% is equivalent to 672 thousand people.

In short, citizens have the constitutional tools to freely decide for their future and express themselves on the different issues that concern their community. In this sense, it is important to know the way so that, as citizens, we create a more democratic and participatory society.