Ecuador

National Assembly

Political system: Presidential system
Structure of parliament: Unicameral
IPU membership: Yes

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Results

About the election: No party or coalition won a majority in 2021. The Union for Hope coalition (UNES, see note 1) became the largest force, taking 49 seats in the 137-member National Assembly. Pachakutik (an indigenist party that ran on a platform of banning industrial mining) sharply increased its share of seats from 4 in 2017 to 27 in 2021. The Democratic Left (ID) made similar gains from 3 to 18 seats. It became the third-largest force, on a par with the Social Christian Party (PSC). The Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO), led by former economy minister Guillermo Lasso, took 12 seats. On 15 May, the newly elected National Assembly elected Ms. Guadalupe Llori Abarca (Pachakutik) as its new Speaker with the backing of CREO. She is the first indigenous person to assume the post.

No candidate was elected in the first round of the presidential elections, which were held in parallel with the parliamentary polls (see note 2). The election commission announced that Mr. Andres Arauz (UNES) and Mr. Lasso (CREO) would advance to the run-offs. Mr. Yaku Perez (Pachakutik), who finished third, requested a partial vote recount. The election commission rejected the request on 16 February. On 11 April, Mr. Lasso (CREO), backed by the PSC (see note 3), won the run-offs, pledging to revamp crude oil production contracts to attract more investment to the oil sector. On 24 May, Mr. Lasso was sworn in as the new President, succeeding Mr. Lenín Moreno (Alianza Pais, AP), who did not seek a second term.

The 2021 elections followed the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely affected the country. Ecuador recorded one of the highest death rates in the region. The country’s economy was hit hard by the pandemic, particularly its key oil industry. In response, President Moreno announced $4 billion of cuts to public spending in May 2020.

Note 1:

The UNES coalition was formed by supporters of former President Rafael Correa, who led the AP coalition at the 2017 elections. In the same year, his deputy Lenín Moreno (AP) was elected as the country’s new president. In 2018, some AP members, who had distanced themselves from the new President, formed the Citizen’s Revolution Movement (MRC) under the leadership of Mr. Correa. The MRC subsequently founded UNES. In September 2020, an Ecuadorian court upheld an eight-year prison sentence against Mr. Correa for breaking campaign finance laws, an allegation that he denies. The election commission subsequently rejected his candidacy for the vice-presidency in 2021. AP failed to win parliamentary representation in the same year.

Note 2:

To avoid a run-off election, presidential candidates need to obtain 40 per cent of the vote and hold at least a 10 per cent advantage over their nearest rival.

Note 3:

The alliance between CREO and the PSC broke up shortly after the election. President Lasso’s government is supported only by CREO.
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition: 35.8%
Alternation of power after elections: Yes
Number of parties in government: 1
Names of parties in government: Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group	Total
Union for Hope (UNES)	49
Pachakutik	27
Democratic Left (ID)	18
Social Christian Party (PSC)	18
Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO)	12
Honesty Alliance	2
United Ecuador Movement	2
Avanza Party	2
Patriotic Society Party 21 January" (PSP)	1
Democracy Movement Yes (Democracia Sí)	1
Ecuadorian Union	1
Movimiento Construye (MC25)	1
Independents	3

Members elected, by sex

Number of men elected: 85
Number of women elected: 52
Percentage of women elected: 38.0%
Women Directly Elected: 52
Sources: National Assembly (17.05.2021)

Consejo Nacional Electoral (18.08.2021)

https://resultados2021.cne.gob.ec/

BBC Monitoring

Reuters

https://www.nytimes.com

https://www.aljazeera.com

https://www.as-coa.org

New legislature

Total number of men after the election: 85
Total number of women after the election: 52
Percentage of women after the election: 38.0%
First-term parliamentarians: 124
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians: 90.5%
Date of the first session: 14 May 2021

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature: Guadalupe Llori Abarca (Female)
Date of birth: 1963
Political party: Pachakutik
Date of election: 15 May 2021

Ecuador

National Assembly

Election results

Background

Candidates

Voter turnout