This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/7020420.stm
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Ecuadoreans vote for new assembly | |
(about 8 hours later) | |
The people of Ecuador are choosing a new constituent assembly designed radically to alter the way the country is run. | |
President Rafael Correa wants the 130-member body to dissolve Congress and cut the powers of the traditional political parties. | President Rafael Correa wants the 130-member body to dissolve Congress and cut the powers of the traditional political parties. |
He says the parties have run the country badly. | He says the parties have run the country badly. |
But correspondents say a wide array of candidates and a complicated electoral process has confused many voters. | But correspondents say a wide array of candidates and a complicated electoral process has confused many voters. |
Mr Correa, who came to power in January, says the constituent assembly will bring politics back to the people after years of corrupt and inept governments. | |
But the BBC South American correspondent Daniel Schweimler says more than 3,200 candidates and a complex voting system has left many voters undecided or simply confused. | |
Among the candidates are several former beauty queens, a long-haired monk who walks the streets urging voters to take from the rich and a masked crime fighter known as The Punisher who says his face is covered because he is allergic to corruption. | Among the candidates are several former beauty queens, a long-haired monk who walks the streets urging voters to take from the rich and a masked crime fighter known as The Punisher who says his face is covered because he is allergic to corruption. |
There are evangelical Christians and Marxists, offering an array of measures, including a return of the death penalty and nationalising the country's oil industry. | There are evangelical Christians and Marxists, offering an array of measures, including a return of the death penalty and nationalising the country's oil industry. |
Opposition parties in Ecuador say the vote is simply a way for Mr Correa to concentrate more power in his own hands. | Opposition parties in Ecuador say the vote is simply a way for Mr Correa to concentrate more power in his own hands. |
The president's party expected to win more than two-thirds of the vote necessary to implement the changes he has promised the Ecuadorean people. | The president's party expected to win more than two-thirds of the vote necessary to implement the changes he has promised the Ecuadorean people. |