The executive branch includes 15 ministries. Provincial governors and councilors, like mayors and aldermen and parrish boards, are directly elected. Each 2 years, legislators are elected from the majority party. Congress meets throughout the year except for recess in July and December. There are twenty 7-member congressional committees. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Congress for indefinite terms.
Political conditions
Ecuador's political parties have historically been small, loose organizations that depended more on populist, often charismatic, leaders to retain support than on programs or ideology. Frequent internal splits have produced extreme factionalism. However, a pattern has emerged in which administrations from the center-left alternate with those from the center-right. Although Ecuador's political elite is highly factionalized along regional, ideological, and personal lines, a strong desire for consensus on major issues often leads to compromise. Opposition forces in Congress are loosely organized, but historically they often unite to block the administration's initiatives and to remove cabinet ministers.
Constitutional changes enacted by a specially elected National Constitutional Assembly in 1998 took effect on August 10, 1998. The new constitution strengthens the executive branch by eliminating mid-term congressional elections and by circumscribing Congress' power to challenge cabinet ministers. Party discipline is traditionally weak, and routinely many deputies switch allegiance during each Congress. However, after the new Constitution took effect, the Congress passed a code of ethics which imposes penalties on members who defy their party leadership on key votes.
Beginning with the 1996 election, the indigenous population abandoned its traditional policy of shunning the official political system and participated actively. The indigenous population has established itself as a significant force in Ecuadorian politics, as shown by the selection of indigenous representative Nina Pacari, who led the indigenous political party, Pachakutik, as second vice president of the 1998 Congress. The next presidential and congressional elections are currently scheduled for 2002.
Country name:
conventional long form:
Republic of Ecuador
conventional short form:
Ecuador
local long form:
Republica del Ecuador
local short form:
Ecuador
Data code: EC
Government type: republic
Capital: Quito
Administrative divisions:
Ecuador is divided into 22 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia):
Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
Independence: 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)
Constitution: 10 August 1998
Legal system: based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Gustavo Noboa (since 22 January 2000) following coup which deposed President Mahuad; Vice President Pedro Pinto (since 28 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government:
President Gustavo Noboa (since 22 January 2000) following coup which deposed President Mahuad; Vice President Pedro Pinto (since 28 January 2000); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president
elections:
president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year term (no reelection); election last held 31 May 1998; runoff election held 12 July 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results:
results of the last election prior to the coup were: Jamil Mahuad elected president; percent of vote - 51%
note:
a military-indigenous coup toppled democratically elected President Jamil Mahuad on 21 January 2000; the military quickly handed power over to Vice President Gustavo Noboa on 22 January; Congress then elected a new vice president from a slate of candidates submitted by Noboa; the new administration is scheduled to complete the remainder of Mahuad's term, due to expire in January 2003
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional (121 seats; 79 members are popularly elected at-large nationally to serve four-year terms; 42 members are popularly elected by province - two per province - for four-year terms)
elections:
last held 31 May 1998 (next to be held NA 2002)
election results:
percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DP 32, PSC 27, PRE 24, ID 18, P-NP 9, FRA 5, PCE 3, MPD 2, CFP 1; note - defections by members of National Congress are commonplace, resulting in frequent changes in the numbers of seats held by the various parties
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema, new justices are elected by the full Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Concentration of Popular Forces or CFP [Averroes Bucaram]; Democratic Left or ID [Rodrigo Borja Cevallos]; Ecuadorian Conservative Party or PCE [Freddy Bravo]; Pachakutik-New Country or P-NP [Nina Pacari and Freddy Ehlers]; Popular Democracy or DP [Ramiro Rivera]; Popular Democratic Movement or MPD [Jaime Hurtado Gonzalez]; Radical Alfarista Front or FRA [Fabian Alarcon, director]; Roldosist Party or PRE [Abdala Bucaram Ortiz, director]; Social Christian Party or PSC [Jaime Nebot Saadi, president]
note:
political blocs include: far left - MPD; populist - CFP and P-NP; populist left - PRE; center left - ID, DP, and FRA; center right - PSC and PCE
Political pressure groups and leaders: Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador or CONAIE [Antonio VARGAS]
International organization participation: CAN, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Flag description: three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia which is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms