The Ecuadorian political movement Construye decided this Sunday to nominate Christian Zurita as a candidate for the presidency, fearing that the electoral authorities would reject Vice Presidential candidate Andrea González, who was announced on Saturday as a replacement for the assassinated candidate, Fernando, to validate. Villavicencio.
Christian Zurita worked with Villavicencio for 15 years on the corruption investigations that brought the now-murdered candidate to the public eye in Ecuador.
Andrea González had been announced on Saturday night as Construye’s new candidate for the August 20 presidential election, but since she had previously run for Vice President of Villavicencio, she needed the approval of the National Electoral Commission (CNE).
Ecuadorian law states that “candidates for popularly elected office, once qualified and registered, cannot be rejected”.
“We could not under any circumstances allow Fernando’s absence due to a vicious and heinous crime to mean defeat,” Zurita said at a joint press conference with González in Quito.
“Fernando’s ideas are completely intact,” said Zurita.
Even with this change, the movement will not participate in tonight’s televised election debate after asking for an empty seat for Villavicencio, who was shot dead as he left a rally in Quito on Wednesday.
Andrea González, who had already criticized the CNE, did so again, since it was this body that did not allow the new candidate to participate in the debate.
The CNE decided to keep the election date despite the assassination of a candidate.
Villavicencio, 59, was shot dead on Wednesday after a school meeting in the north of Quito.
The crime has already led to the arrest of six people of Colombian nationality, but it is not known who ordered the murder.
Source: DN
