ECUADOR’s President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree on Wednesday, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections and heading off an attempt by opposition politicians to impeach him.
Police and military decked in riot gear guarded the National Assembly building from behind barricades in capital Quito, allowing no one inside.
Opposition politicians wanted to impeach Lasso over accusations he disregarded warnings of embezzlement related to a contract at state-owned oil transportation company Flopec, charges the president denies.
A majority of lawmakers had backed a resolution accusing Lasso of allowing the corrupt contract to continue after taking office in 2021, although a congressional oversight committee, which heard testimony from opposition lawmakers, officials, and Lasso’s lawyer, said in its report it did not recommend impeachment.
Lasso says the impeachment process – the first against an Ecuadorean president in decades – is politically motivated and has sparked a grave crisis that has threatened democracy. The dissolution was necessary, he said.
“This is a democratic decision, not only because it is constitutional, but because it returns the power to the Ecuadorean people … to decide their future in the next elections,” Lasso said in a video broadcast.
