ELECTIONS HELD IN 1994
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| Congreso Nacional | |
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| 1 May 1994 | |
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| Elections were held for all 65 provincial Deputies on the normal expiry of their term of office. | |
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| Following the previous (May 1992) congressional elections, the announcement by the Government of President of the Republic Sixto Duran Ballen (Republican Unity Party – PUR) of a programme of economic austerity measures – aimed at controlling inflation, reducing the budget deficit and restructuring the public sector – prompted widespread protest and strikes. The severity of this reaction served to undermine congressional support for the Government. In November 1993, striking teachers organised demonstrations throughout the country, demanding wage increases and reforms in the education system. This parked off another series of violent incidents.
The 1994 mid-term congressional elections were held simultaneously with polling for provincial and municipal councillors. The remaining 12 national Deputies’ seats which were not at stake will be renewed in May 1996 after their, and the President’s, four-year term. As two years earlier, main contestants for the 65 provincial Deputies’ seats were the three leading parties in Congress: the centre-right Social Christian Party (PSC) led by Mr. Jaime Nebot Saadi, the right-wing populist Roldosista Party of Ecuador (PRE) headed by Mr. Abdala Bucaram Ortiz, and the centre-right PUR. Predictably, campaign debate related above all to economic issues, particularly the Government’s controversial privatisation plan and Ecuador’s large foreign debt. Polling day, marked by a high abstention rate, was monitored by foreign observers including a team from the OAS. Final results were devastating to the PUR, which lost nine seats and thus managed to retain only the same number together with its ally, the Conservative Party of Vice-President Alberto Dahik. On the other hand, the formerly ruling PSC reinforced its primary position in Congress with 26 seats. Altogether 13 parties, as well as some independents, gained representation. On 3 May, an agreement was reached with creditors on rescheduling payment of the country’s foreign debt. |
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STATISTICS
| Round no 1 (1 May 1994): Elections results | |
| Number of registered electors | 6,175,991 |
| Voters | 50% (approx.) |
| Round no 1: Distribution of seats | |||
| Political Group | Total | Seats 1994 | Gain/Loss |
| Social Christian Party (PSC) | 26 | 23 | +5 |
| Roldosista Party of Ecuador (PRE) | 11 | 10 | -2 |
| Popular Democratic Movement (MDP) | 8 | 7 | +4 |
| Democratic Left (ID) | 8 | 7 | +1 |
| Conservative Party (PC) | 6 | 5 | = |
| Popular Democracy (DP) | 4 | 3 | -1 |
| Republican Unity Party (PUR) | 3 | 2 | -9 |
| Ecuadorian Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE) | 2 | 2 | +1 |
| Alfarista Radical Front (FRA) | 2 | 2 | +1 |
| Socialist Party (PSE) | 2 | 1 | -1 |
| National Liberation (LN) | 1 | 1 | = |
| Liberal Radical Party (PLR) | 1 | 1 | -1 |
| Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP) | 1 | 0 | = |
| Independents | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Distribution of seats according to sex: | |
| Men: | 73 |
| Women: | 4 |
Copyright © 1994 Inter-Parliamentary Union