The Constitutional Court has rejected all seven unconstitutionality appeals filed against the National Electoral Council's decision to move up sectional elections to November 29, 2026. The lawsuits were submitted between March 30 and July 17 of this year against the resolution issued by the electoral authority, known as the CNE.
With the ruling, the date for local elections and the vote for members of the Council for Public Participation and Social Control, or CPCCS, is definitively set for Sunday, November 29, 2026. The elections had originally been projected for February 14, 2027.
Schedule Changes and Weather Risks
In March, the CNE plenary, under the presidency of Diana Atamaint, approved a resolution that cut 11 weeks from the operational schedule. The decision modified the calendar formally approved in February, shortening deadlines for all process phases, from internal democracy within political organizations to candidate qualification and campaigning.
The electoral authority based its technical justification on a report from the Secretariat of Risk Management. The document warned of a high probability that adverse weather linked to the El Niño phenomenon would impact Ecuadorian territory during the first months of next year, potentially disrupting logistics, mobility, and voting on election day.
