CNE admits new request for recall of mandate against Daniel Noboa and María José Pinto

Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) has definitively rejected a new request seeking the revocation of mandates for President Daniel Noboa and Vice President María José Pinto. The council cited the request's untimely submission as the primary reason for its inadmissibility, effectively closing this administrative avenue for the petitioners.

The CNE's plenary session, held on Monday, August 3, 2026, upheld the electoral body's previous stance. With four votes in favor, the council dismissed a correction request filed by citizens José Villavicencio, Wilson Roberto Álvarez, and Andrés Quishpe. This request aimed to challenge an earlier July 28 resolution where the CNE had initially denied the release of forms necessary for collecting citizen signatures against the executive leadership.

The technical basis for rejecting the latest petition was detailed in legal report No. 074-BNAJ-CNE-2026 from the CNE's National Directorate of Legal Advisory Services. The report concluded that the request was filed on July 31, two days after the original resolution, thereby violating Article 239 of the Electoral Code. This article stipulates strict deadlines, making the submission "extemporaneous" and preventing the council from examining the substance of the arguments presented by the petitioners.

Council members Elena Nájera, Enrique Pita, Esthela Acero, and José Cabrera unanimously supported the legal advisory's findings. They emphasized that adherence to procedural timelines is crucial for ensuring legal certainty and due process. This ruling confirms that failure to meet the two-day deadline, counted from the initial notification, renders any further review of the contested resolution procedurally impossible.

This initiative was reportedly driven by social leaders, including Guido Perugachi of Fenocin, José Villavicencio of FUT, Nelson Erazo of Frente Popular, and Andrés Quishpe of UNE. Despite their persistent efforts to find mechanisms for formalizing signature collection against the presidential binomial, the process remains stalled administratively within the CNE following the initial denial and the subsequent rejection of the correction request.