People are voting in a referendum on tougher measures to combat gang-related crime

ANI |
Updated: April 22, 2024 03:18 IST

Quito (Ecuador), April 22 (ANI): People have started voting in a referendum on proposed tougher steps to tackle gang-related crime in Ecuador, amid rising violence that has left two mayors dead in a week, according to reports. Al Jazeera reported.
Most of the eleven questions asked to voters on Sunday focused on tightening security measures. The steps include deploying the military in the fight against the gangs, removing obstacles to the extradition of accused criminals and increasing prison sentences for convicted drug traffickers.
The increase in insecurity in Ecuador has been blamed on gangs with links to transnational cartels who use the ports to ship drugs to the US and Europe, the Al Jazeera report said.
As voting began at the Electoral Council in Quito, Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said that the results of Sunday’s referendum “will determine the course and state policies that we will follow to meet the challenge of the fight against violence and organized to tackle crime.”
Earlier in January, Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict”, blaming around 20 criminal groups for a wave of violence following the jailbreak of a drug boss who is still on the run.
Dozens of people, including police and prison guards, have been kidnapped by gang members. The gang members also opened fire in a TV studio during a live broadcast and threatened arbitrary executions, Al Jazeera reported.
Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency and deployed soldiers to regain control of prisons in Ecuador, which had become the center for gang operations that have resulted in the deaths of more than 460 inmates in three years.

Despite the Ecuadorian government’s efforts, violence continues in the region, which Naboa sees as “a sign that narcoterrorism and its allies are seeking space to terrorize us.”
At least a dozen politicians, including presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, have been assassinated in Ecuador since January last year. Two mayors have been assassinated in the past week, making three in less than a month.
On Sunday, Daniel Noboa sought popular support for his plans to take strict action against those responsible for these acts.
People have been asked to approve the expansion of military and police forces, strengthening gun control and harsher penalties for “terrorism” and drug trafficking.
Noboa has also proposed a constitutional amendment to allow extradition of Ecuadorians wanted in other countries for crimes related to organized crime.
Nearly 13.6 million people of Ecuador’s 17.7 million residents are eligible to vote yes or no during the ten voting hours.
Most questions in the referendum concern crime prevention, even though Ecuador also faces widespread corruption, a crippling electricity shortage and a diplomatic row with Mexico, according to Al Jazeera.
In 2023, Ecuador’s homicide rate rose to a record 43 per 100,000 inhabitants, up from six in 2018, according to the official date. (ANI)