LatinNews Daily - 22 September 2025

*Ecuador’s national electoral council (CNE) has approved the holding of a referendum to take place on 16 November on questions such as whether a ban on foreign military bases in Ecuador should be eliminated. However, on 19 September the constitutional court suspended a decree (no. 148) issued by President Daniel Noboa two days earlier declaring that as part of this referendum, voters should decide on a constituent assembly to change the country’s 2008 constitution. The court stated it was suspending the decree as it reviews a handful of legal cases against the move. The next day President Noboa issued a second decree (153) again calling for a referendum on a constituent assembly which he presented to the CNE, laying him open to accusations of seeking to sidestep the constitutional court, with which he has clashed previously. Salim Zaidan, an Ecuadorean constitutional lawyer, was cited by the Associated Press as saying that the move could give the CNE, which has declared that Ecuador is now preparing for the referendum, the ability to block any efforts by the top court to halt the referendum. President Noboa’s second decree has drawn major concern from figures such as the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Gina Romero, and Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. Further fuelling concerns on 20 September, the constitutional court was forced to evacuate during an emergency session while it was considering Noboa’s latest decree due to a bomb threat, which was later reported to be a false alarm.

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