Quito, 9 May (Prensa Latina) The future of Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso will be decided today at a plenary session of the National Assembly (Parliament), which will decide whether to proceed with the impeachment proceedings against the President.
Amid disputes over the legality of convening Tuesday’s meeting, members of parliament will decide on charges against the ruler for failing to approve a report with recommendations on the case by the Oversight Commission.
The President of the Legislative, Virgilio Saquicela, reiterated that for this reason it is necessary to invoke Article 142 of the Organic Law of the Legislative, which states that in this type of situation the plenary must decide.
Government allies, in their eagerness to save Lasso, said the call was illegal because the document, rejected at the inspection table, which proposed dismissing the allegations against the chief executive, was not released.
Despite this, Saquicela held the meeting for 10:45 a.m. (local time).
MEP Viviana Veloz, one of the proponents of the process, announced that she would submit a majority-supported report in support of the impeachment process.
Apparently the opposition will have the necessary 70 votes to give in to this procedure aimed at removing the CEO.
Alongside the assembly members of the Citizens Revolution (47) and the Social Christian Party (13), members of the divided Pachakutik Bank and some independents will support the continuation of the Lasso trial.
Although the government has maintained the president’s innocence, the indictment alleges that he was aware of irregularities in a government-damaging contract between the state-owned Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) and the Amazonas Tanker company.
Social organizations have also called on their members to demonstrate outside the gathering to show lawmakers popular support for the end of Lasso’s term, which polls show 80 percent of the population opposes.
lam/avr