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News > Latin America

Ecuadorean Police Raid the Council for Citizen Participation

  • Police officers enter the Citizen Participation Council, Quito, Ecuador, Feb. 15, 2022.

    Police officers enter the Citizen Participation Council, Quito, Ecuador, Feb. 15, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @fabriciovelav

Published 16 February 2022
Opinion

The Council President Almeida said her institution is victim of a smear campaign carried out by right-wing politicians who seek to seize the Council to appoint pro-government officials.

On Tuesday night, the Ecuadorean national police and officials of the Public Prosecutor's Office raided the headquarters of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), an institution in charge of appointing control authorities, such as the Controller General.

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Using Facebook, the CPCCS President Sofia Almeida denounced the raid, which occurs at a time when her presidency has been challenged by Hernan Ulloa, a councilor who was proclaimed CPCCS President by councilors who would be supporting President Guillermo Lasso.

The Prosecutor's Office justified the search by arguing that it sought to collect physical and digital documentary evidence on an alleged crime of "non-consensual access to computer systems," which would have been reported by citizens whose names remained anonymous.

“They didn't let me in even though I'm CPCCS President. Nor did they respect my position as counselor. I wanted to see what was happening in the computer area of ​​the CPCCS and verify that everything was in order,” Almeida said.

The tweet reads, "This is how they celebrate the blow to the Function of Transparency and Social Control. This is the clear sign that the rule of law has disappeared in Ecuador. President Guillermo Lasso takes the CPCCS with the full support of the Police.”

Previously, through the "Enclave Politica" program broadcast by teleSUR, she warned that the CPCSS is "victim of a smear campaign" carried out by right-wing politicians who seek to seize the Council to appoint pro-government officials.

On Feb. 9, Almeida was removed from her position through a controversial legal action taken by counselors sympathetic to the Executive Branch. This happened while the Police surrounded the building, creating a scene that social networks qualified as a "dictatorial" performance.  Upon learning about her removal, Almeida denounced the disrespect for the independence of the institutions.

Similar to what happened on that day, Hernan Ulloa, an official who would seek to favor the Lasso administration, asked the head of the National Police to provide him support to enter the CPCSS headquarters in Quito on Tuesday.

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