Fernando Villavicencio’s running mate, Andrea Gonzalez Nader, will be the candidate for Ecuador’s presidential election, Ecuadorian political parties said in a statement.
Villavicencio, a former member of Congress and investigative reporter working on corruption, was shot and killed as he left a campaign event on Wednesday night, August 9, just days before the election.
“Andrea Gonzalez Nader is the candidate chosen by Fernando Villavicencio and the Construction Movement to succeed the President in his absence,” the party said via the X platform (formerly Twitter).
The party said the appointment of vice presidential nominee Gonzalez had been approved by the governing body.
They are expected to announce the name of their vice presidential nominee soon.
Ecuador’s National Electoral Commission (CNE) has yet to rule on the candidacy.
Who is Andrea Gonzalez Nader?
González Náder, an environmental engineer from the city of Guayaquil in southwestern Ecuador, has no public office.
According to the Ecuadorian newspaper El Mercurio, she has worked as a director of an environmental communication platform, as a sustainability teacher in schools, and as a consultant on environmental issues to companies and NGOs.
Her advice as vice president is to focus on Green Economy, Sustainable Development and Climate ChangeEcuadorian newspaper Primicias reported.
Although the ballots have already been printed, the ballots obtained by Villavicencio will be automatically transferred to Gonzalez Nader.
Doubts about candidacy
According to Ecuador’s electoral law, the country’s presidential or vice-presidential candidates, once qualified and registered, cannot be renounced or replaced.
Although the failure of Villavicencio’s candidacy was due to unforeseen force majeure reasons, It’s unclear what will happen to Andrea Gonzalez Nader’s appointment.
As early as August 11th, the Construction Party published a letter in which it sent a series of inquiries to CNE asking if they might not replace Villavicencio with anyone, as well as Gonzalez Nadel Whether to run alone, and if the assassinated candidate wins, Gonzalez will succeed him as president.
The other scenario they brought up was her candidacy for president.
CNE did not respond to this Nor, as we speak, has it ruled on changes to Construye’s internal candidacy.
It also brings something important to this Sunday, when the mandatory presidential debate will take place. In principle, only presidential candidates can participate. The question now is whether Gonzalez Nader can join the debate.
They reported in local media that the CNE has not yet confirmed whether Náder’s appointment has been formally proposed, but even if it has, the law indicates that a process of objections and challenges must be followed before electoral authorities allow his appointment.stand firm
Villavicencio’s widow, Verónica Sarauz, has already criticized the party’s measures.
“A vice presidential candidate cannot resign,” he said.
“The candidacy of this country cannot be abandoned and the candidate that must be replaced is the presidential candidate,” she told reporters, wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet and escorted by police.
public vigil
Relatives and supporters of Villavicencio attended Mass and a public wake in Quito on Fridayin memory of the previous candidate.
Villavicencio’s death comes amid a wave of violence and crime in Ecuador, which is due to hold presidential elections next Sunday (August 20).
Villavicencio was shot in the head three times and died while leaving a political event in Quito for his truck. The suspect died after a standoff with police.
Hours after the attack, authorities detained six more people suspected of involvement in the homicide, with the prosecutor’s office ruling on their preventive detention.
For Sarauz, the Ecuadorian state was responsible for her husband’s death and said he was not immediately protected.
“The country still has a lot of answers to what happened, Your personal guardianship is not working. I don’t want to think that they sold out my husband for me to be murdered in this notorious way,” she added.
In addition, Estefany Puente, an Ecuadorian parliamentary candidate who is running for the seat in the province of Los Ríos, said she had He was slightly injured in the shooting attack.
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