The public consultation that President Daniel Noboa announced during his campaign will take place in the first quarter of 2024. According to the calculation of the same president, it would be between the last days of February and the first of March. Everything will depend on the approval of the contents of the Constitutional Court and the election calendar that has been defined.

Public consultation represents an economic investment, now in the midst of obvious financial problems, but it is also part of a country’s democratic exercise, involving citizens in state decisions. If the regime has already chosen this path, it is obliged to make the issues of real interest and importance in order to contribute to the improvement of the lives of Ecuadorians.

The 2024 consultation will be the 13th since 1979, the year in which the military dictatorship invited the population to choose between a constitutional text prepared by a group of lawyers and academics and a reformed 1945 Magna Carta.

Daniel Noboa Azín predicted that his public consultation will have between 12 and 14 questions on topics related to the actions and actions of the armed forces, with reforms of the judicial system and the creation of jobs and human dignity. Also, the question that was included on February 5 will be repeated, so that the voters could once again answer whether they agree or not with the extradition of perpetrators of transnational crimes.

It is positive that the president is clear with what he will go to the elections and that he consults before sending the question to the Constitutional Court in order to avoid rejections that delay the process. It would also be nice to start circulating them for discussion and even to hear opinions and suggestions.

Using public consultation with clear and relevant questions is a challenge for the Government at a time when decisions must be transcendental and effective. We cannot ignore the urgency of the solution and the fact that the period of the current regime is only 16 months. (OR)