The Arauz-Rabascall ticket widely leads the polls of voting intentions in Ecuador. | Photo: EFE

Quito, January 30 (RHC)-- One of the members of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador, Luis Verdesoto Custode, has denounced before the Electoral Disputes Tribunal (TCE) the presidential ticket of the alliance Unión por la Esperanza (UNES), formed by Andres Arauz and Carlos Rabascall, for allegedly conducting tests to detect coronavirus.

The fact would have occurred at the UNES headquarters in Tulcán, and even in Quito, according to press reports.  For Verdesoto, this is a serious electoral infraction by UNES and its presidential and vice-presidential candidates because it would correspond to what is prohibited by Article 204 of the Code of Democracy: "they cannot give donations, gifts or presents to citizens, with the exception of regulated promotional items."

The denunciation also included the common procurator of UNES, Joseph Santiago Díaz Asque, and the campaign chief, Diana Liceth Cruz Murillo.

Verdesoto cited Article 278 of the mentioned Code, to request EDT to apply a fine of 20 basic unified salaries (US$ 8,000), to dismiss Diaz and Cruz, and to suspend the political rights of the UNES ticket.

The political alliance, through the former congressman and candidate to the Andean Parliament of this formation, Virgilio Hernández, denounced that this action is part of the campaign that the right wing is carrying out to prevent the virtually certain triumph of the Arauz-Abascal formula.

In the last days, the main figures of UNES, including former President Rafael Correa, have denounced that the national right wing desperately seeks to demerit this alliance in the popular preference, for which they have tried to link it with the National Liberation Army of Colombia and with the execution of other illegal actions.

Verdesoto himself mentioned a video that circulated on Thursday in social networks, of an alleged announcement of UNES to deliver an advance, in cash, of the $1,000 bonus that Aráuz has promised in case of winning the elections of next February 7.

In this regard, UNES and Aráuz himself assured in their social networks that this video is false.