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”.
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This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
