Noboa pushes referendum bypassing Constitutional Court as protests grow in Ecuador
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa has called a nationwide vote on whether to allow foreign military bases back into the country and whether to establish a Constituent Assembly to rewrite the constitution.
The move, announced on Friday, September 19, bypasses the Constitutional Court and comes amid growing protests over fuel subsidy cuts.
In a decree ordering the National Electoral Council to prepare the vote, Noboa argued that Ecuador’s worsening security crisis requires new strategies against organised crime. The proposals would overturn a 2008 constitutional ban on foreign bases, which led to the closure of the US military installation in Manta a year later. Washington has already signalled openness to returning if formally invited.
Alongside the question on military bases, Noboa also decreed a referendum on convening a Constituent Assembly, a flagship promise of his campaign. Under his plan, the body would consist of 80 representatives — provincial, national and from abroad — tasked with drafting a new constitution within six months, extendable by two.
But Noboa’s decision to sidestep the Constitutional Court has fuelled a deeper clash between the executive and judiciary. The court recently blocked parts of several laws pushed by his administration, and critics accuse him of undermining constitutional safeguards. In a statement, the presidency dismissed those concerns, insisting that “politicised obstruction will not prevent the will of the Ecuadorian people”.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
