In the city of Puerto López, a candidate for mayor of Ecuador who was assassinated just hours before voting began won the election.
On Saturday,February 4, gunmen entered the room where Omar Menéndez, 41, was with campaign workers and opened fire, killing him.
The attack also claimed the life of a teenager. Police are still investigating the possible motive behind it.
It’s anticipated that Mr. Menéndez’s position as mayor will be filled by a member of his party.
The municipal elections were held during an escalating crime wave linked to the growing influence of violent drug gangs in the Andean country.
Assailants who shot Omar Menéndez to death and escaped on a motorcycle have not yet been apprehended.
President Guillermo Lasso condemned the murders.
He has put out a number of constitutional amendments that were presented before voters on Sunday February 5.
One of them was to make it possible for Ecuadoreans with connections to transnational organized crime to be extradited overseas if they are involved in a trial there or have already been sentenced in absentia.
Some officials contend that extraditing convicted criminals to maximum security prisons in the United States would be a safer and more cost-effective choice for the Ecuadorian justice system because many jails in Ecuador have been overrun by the recent crime wave.
However, the initiative to amend Ecuador’s constitution to permit the extradition of Ecuadoreans narrowly failed, being rejected by 51% of voters.
“When the people speak, it’s our duty to analyse, understand, and accept it”, according to President Lasso, who declared that he accepted the result.
Author-Roberta Appiah
