(Quito) The government of Quito on Saturday described as an attempt to “destabilize” a report by the Ecuadorian National Assembly recommending the indictment of President Guillermo Lasso for alleged corruption.
The legislative branch investigated the head of state after a website revealed the existence of an alleged corruption scheme set up in public companies by a brother-in-law of Mr Lasso , Danilo Carrera.
The opposition in Parliament considered that Mr. Lasso had been warned of the existence of this device and that he had not acted to stop it.
This is “obvious destabilization,” Government Affairs Minister Henry Cucalon said in a video.
The president estimated for his part on Twitter that the report, approved by 104 votes out of 137, “lacks logical, factual and legal basis”.
After the report was approved, Mr. Lasso asked the prosecution to “conduct all relevant investigations, with all the rigor and depth” necessary, according to a letter posted on Twitter, adding that the approved text “contains unrelated rantings among themselves on alleged acts of corruption”.
The vote on this report does not imply the opening of an impeachment trial. This requires a formal request supported by 46 deputies, or one third of the members of the Ecuadorian National Assembly.
The request must then be examined by the Constitutional Court, which gives the green light or not for it to be studied by Parliament. A two-thirds (92) majority vote of the members of the National Assembly is required for the impeachment process to succeed.
In a first attempt by lawmakers to impeach Mr. Lasso in June 2022, the opposition failed to secure the necessary votes.