VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0555 1872301
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 062301Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0586
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 8238
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 4210
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 3620
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUL LIMA 3291
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 4454

UNCLAS QUITO 000555 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EC
SUBJECT: ELECTION RESULTS AT LAST OFFICIAL 
 
REF: QUITO 475 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The official proclamation of election 
results on July 1 will allow President Correa's inauguration 
for his second term to take place on August 10, as he wanted. 
 Due to the number of challenges and appeals, the public 
waited 66 days to learn the official outcome.  Correa's 
movement, which won 59 of 124 seats in the National Assembly, 
has gained three allies so far, and is seeking the support of 
additional Assembly members elected under other party 
banners.  End Summary. 
 
CORREA GETS HIS WAY 
 
¶2. (U) Sixty-six days after the April 26 general elections, 
official results for the 15 National Assembly members elected 
on a national basis were finally proclaimed on July 1.  The 
official results for all elections held on April 26 and June 
14 have now been announced.  This sets the timetable for 
these officials to begin their terms given that the 
constitution's transition provisions required the National 
Assembly to be sworn in 30 days after the proclamation of all 
election results, and the president ten days later. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Both the National Electoral Council and the 
Elections Disputes Tribunal rushed their administrative 
procedures so that Correa could be inaugurated on August 10, 
which coincides with the 200th anniversary of Ecuador's 
so-called "Call for Independence," a date of great symbolic 
significance.  National Electoral Council president Omar 
Simon told us that each provincial electoral council had 
already proclaimed the results for the National Assembly 
members representing provinces, so this announcement 
concludes the process.  Hence, there was no official 
announcement of the aggregate National Assembly seats won by 
each party. 
 
PAIS BUILDING MAJORITY 
 
¶4. (SBU) Press figures for the National Assembly breakdown 
show that PAIS won 59 out of the 124 seats, followed by 19 
for the Patriotic Society Party, 11 for the Social Christian 
Party, seven for the Institutional Renewal and National 
Action Party, and the rest distributed among other parties 
with less than five seats each.  While PAIS's tally of 59 is 
just short of a majority, Coordinating Minister of Politics 
Ricardo Patino claimed that the government would control 80 
votes in the future Assembly through alliances with smaller 
groups.  The radical Popular Democratic Movement (MPD) was 
originally expected to ally with PAIS, but MPD has since 
become estranged by the government's insistence on teacher 
evaluations that the MPD-associated teachers' union opposed. 
Legislative Commission President Fernando Cordero suggested a 
few weeks ago that the new Municipal Movement might ally with 
PAIS, but its leader, former Quito mayor Paco Mancayo, 
rejected that idea.  PAIS claims that it has secured the 
support of one defector from PSP, one Socialist Party/Broad 
Front member, and one member elected as the sole 
representative of a small political movement.  According to 
the 2008 constitution, the National Assembly will be in place 
until May 2013. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The 5,959 government officials elected by popular 
vote on April 26 and June 14 are now all decided.  In 
addition to the president/vice president and the 124 National 
Assembly members, this includes prefects and vice prefects, 
mayors, local city and parish council members, and Andean 
Parliament representatives.  The process of determining the 
election results appeals was particularly contentions in the 
case of Manta, Manabi province, where the Electoral Disputes 
Tribunal changed the originally announced election outcome, 
determining after a recount that a different mayoral 
candidate had won. 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶6. (SBU) The pressure exerted by the Correa administration on 
the electoral authorities was evident in the rush with which 
results were proclaimed in order to meet the date he had 
chosen to be inaugurated.  It is not clear whether political 
actors will be satisfied with the treatment received in the 
rushed appeals process.  However, nobody denies that 
President Correa will begin a new term with newfound power 
now that he has supporters holding local government positions. 
HODGES