The Organization of American States (OAS) condemned the assassination of Ecuador’s presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Wednesday evening and announced that members of the organization’s election observation mission will arrive in the country this Thursday.
Members of the OAS mission will go to Ecuador “with the aim of working with authorities and civil society to maintain a safe and democratic environment” during the elections scheduled for Aug. 20, the organization said in a statement.
The attack on journalist and congressman Fernando Villavicencio took place during a rally on Wednesday in a central and busy neighborhood of Quito, where an unknown gunman shot the Ecuadorian presidential candidate.
In the attack that killed Villavicencio, in which the suspect of the attack was also killed after a shootout with security guards, at least nine people were injured, according to the Ecuadorian authorities, who also reported the arrest of six people.
The OAS expressed its condolences to Villavicencio’s family and asked local authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into the crime.
The American organization also called on all candidates in the presidential election to “strengthen their security measures”.
“The safety of candidates is essential to maintain confidence in the democratic system and to ensure that the voices of all citizens are heard freely and without fear,” he defended.
On July 24, the OAS and the National Electoral Council of Ecuador signed a protocol to send a U.S. Organization Election Observation Mission to the August 20 elections.
The OAS observation mission is headed by the former Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Isabel de Saint Malo.
This Thursday, following the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, an extraordinary session of the Permanent Council of the OAS will be held at the institution’s headquarters in Washington.
The Spanish government also condemned the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, in a statement issued by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE).
In the note, the Spanish executive says it supports democracy, the electoral process and the Ecuadorian authorities so that “this tragic death is investigated and the guilty brought to justice” by justice.
The leader of the People’s Party (PP) of Spain, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, today expressed his condolences to the Ecuadorian people and their president, Guillermo Lasso, over the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio.
“Democracy must triumph over yesterday’s disgrace,” Feijóo said, referring to the assassination of the presidential candidate, on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
France called the murder of Fernando Villavicencio a “barbaric act” on Thursday.
“The assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, which took place on August 9 in Ecuador, is a barbaric act and an attack on democracy that we strongly condemn,” said a spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry.
The French MNO spokeswoman recalled that the former deputy and journalist was known for his investigative work in corruption cases and also expressed condolences to the presidential candidate’s relatives.
Source: DN
