CIAO DATE: 11/2009
October 2008
The Carter Center led a small electoral observation mission for Ecuador’s constitutional referendum on Sept. 28, 2008, to help promote a transparent and fair electoral process and accompany the country as it continues its political-institutional transformation. One of the major milestones in the process was the convening of the national constituent assembly (CA), which held session between November 2007 and July 2008. The CA’s efforts culminated in the approval of a draft constitution, which was also approved by 63.93 percent of Ecuador voters during the Sept. 28, 2008, referendum. The Carter Center has been following Ecuador’s political transformation closely since the middle of 2007. In particular, it observed the elections for the assembly members in September 2007 and, afterward, issued biweekly reports and a final report in Spanish and English on the main events and decisions in the CA. Furthermore, The Carter Center helped to organize two workshops targeted at assembly members on lessons learned from other constituent processes, such as Bolivia’s and Colombia’s, that were held in early 2008.
Resource link: Final Report on Ecuador's Approbatory Constitutional Referendum of September 28, 2008 [PDF] - 147K