US embassy cable - 04QUITO2723

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 002723 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KDEM, MOPS, PGOV, PHUM, EC 
SUBJECT: ELECTIONS IN ECUADOR:  THE ROLE OF THE MILITARY 
 
REF: A. QUITO 2449 
 
     B. 02 QUITO 3085 
 
1.  This cable is an update of Ref B, transmitted in 
September 2002, just prior to Ecuador's most recent national 
elections. 
 
2.  SUMMARY:  Although soldiers, sailors and airmen (and 
police) cannot vote, the military nonetheless will play a 
prominent part in Ecuador's October 17 local elections. 
Printing the ballots, securing the voting stations, and 
delivering results to Quito are just a few of its logistical 
responsibilities; 35,000 military will take part in the 
electoral effort.  Despite perceptions that the military 
supports the Gutierrez government and recent declines in 
public approval ratings, the armed forces remain an admired 
institution in Ecuador, and their visibility on election day 
both inspires public confidence and helps ensure a free and 
fair vote.  END SUMMARY. 
 
3.  Ecuador's 1998 constitution bars active duty military 
(and police) from casting ballots.  The armed forces' 
electoral role is robust, however, before, on, and after 
election day.  As the only GoE institution with truly 
national reach, the military has assumed duties, from 
printing the ballots to transporting them for final 
tabulation, handled in most democracies by civilian 
organizations. 
 
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Pre-vote Activities 
------------------- 
 
4.  In 2002, Carlos Aguinaga, then-president (and current 
member) of Ecuador's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), 
provided a review of the military's electoral 
responsibilities that remains accurate today.  Aguinaga noted 
the Ecuadorian public had deep faith in and admiration for 
the armed forces.  They historically have provided logistical 
support for elections, and the TSE in 2002 signed an 
agreement with the Ministry of Defense that expanded even 
further the armed forces' role. 
 
5.  The Ecuadorian Army's Institute of Military Geography 
(IGM) just finished printing 36 million paper ballots needed 
for the upcoming October 17 contests (Ecuador's 8 million 
voters will elect governor-equivalents, mayors, provincial 
councils, city councils, and some rural councils, using 
separate ballots for each).  When asked in 2002 if private 
firms had been able to bid on this seemingly lucrative 
contract, Aguinaga chuckled and recounted the mistake 
electoral authorities had made in 1996, when they contracted 
the task to the private sector.  Protesters and/or vandals 
had breached the company's weak security and torched the 
just-printed ballots, causing major havoc in the 
pre-elections timetable.  Aguinaga asserted the TSE would not 
repeat its earlier mistake, and was generally satisfied with 
IGM's performance. 
 
6.  In a recent meeting to discuss the TSE's voter education 
campaign in advance of the 2004 vote, Tribunal training 
expert Ana Patino praised the military's professionalism in a 
task outside its core mission.  Under an accord signed 
earlier this year, the TSE trained the armed forces in 
electoral materials distribution/collection and precinct 
security.  Patino claimed the TSE's education of the armed 
forces had proceeded far more smoothly than its training of 
civilian poll workers.  Press accounts note the first of 13 
Army-orchestrated election materials deliveries will occur on 
October 8, with all of Ecuador's 22 provinces receiving 
materials well in advance of the vote.  The logistics then 
get tougher, as the military must transport the electoral 
kits to all of Ecuador's 35,000 voting stations; nonetheless, 
Patino was confident the military would mount a successful 
operation. 
 
----------------------- 
Election Day Operations 
----------------------- 
 
7.  The armed forces and Ecuadorian National Police will also 
provide security on election day, the military standing guard 
inside the voting places, the police patrolling the 
perimeters.  Should a member of the armed forces security 
contingent suspect wrongdoing at the voting stations, he/she 
is empowered to temporarily halt the voting and/or vote 
counting and request that the precinct's civilian coordinator 
investigate and rectify the situation.  Once the polls have 
closed and the election workers have tallied the votes, the 
military will transport copies of the tally sheets to the TSE 
and the provincial electoral tribunals. 
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COMMENT: 
-------- 
 
7.  The armed forces play a vital role in Ecuadorian 
elections, as the only institution capable of handling 
logistical support and security nationwide.  But they provide 
more than printing presses, trucks, and hired muscle. 
Respected analysts argue that the Army's involvement in 
elections, rather than provoking suspicions of fraud or 
intimidation among voters, in fact reassures the public of 
the process's probity.  Unlike in neighboring countries, 
election day violence is rare in Ecuador, thanks in part to 
the military's visible presence. 
CHACON