Ecuador voters weigh constitution revamp, foreign army bases

Stephan Kueffner, Bloomberg News on Nov 16, 2025

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Ecuadorians head to the polls to determine the fate of a plan to rewrite the constitution pushed by President Daniel Noboa, who’s pitched it as an answer to the country’s acute security crisis.

The four-question Sunday referendum follows an usually short campaign, after the electoral authority called the vote in late September. Voters will decide whether or not to seat a constitutional assembly empowered to craft Ecuador’s 21st constitution and potentially replace its current charter that dates back to 2008.

If the question passes, the assembly’s members would then be elected early next year. If two-thirds of them approve the new constitutional text within eight months, another referendum to enact it would follow.

Other questions on Sunday’s ballot ask voters to weigh in on allowing foreign military bases within the country, whether or not to slash the number of lawmakers in half or ban public funding for political parties.

Noboa, the 37-year-old heir to a banana fortune, pledged to push for a new constitution during his successful reelection campaign earlier this year.

He’s sold the assembly as a way to ensure that “criminals are not prioritized over you,” and announced that former Prosecutor General Diana Salazar would run for the assembly if the question passes. Salazar led an earlier crusade against drug leaders and graft, and she secured a corruption conviction against former President Rafael Correa.

In recent years, turf wars over surging cocaine exports have made the Andean nation one of the world’s most violent countries. On Sunday, Noboa announced that the alleged leader of Ecuadorian criminal group Los Lobos was captured in Spain. “To combat transnational crime, international cooperation is a must,” Noboa said of the detention of Wilmer “Pipo” Chavarría, which also drew praise from US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Recent polls have shown all of the questions on Sunday’s ballot winning a majority. Support for allowing foreign military bases, which are banned by the current constitution, has lagged the others.

Left-wing organizations have urged voters to reject the questions.

“They want us to believe that the referendum will fix something, but it will not,” said Marlon Vargas, leader of the Indigenous Conaie confederation. “It will not bring security, employment or health.”

Noboa’s main political opposition, the socialist Citizen Revolution party, has also rejected the referendum, but has largely been silent during the formal two-week campaign.

Sunday’s vote marks the latest electoral test for the young leader. He’s embraced U.S. President Donald Trump on security issues, but has also voiced support for Brazilian social spending under leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Noboa has largely maintained his base of support since he announced in September an abrupt end to a popular diesel subsidy, triggering higher prices. Last month, he outlasted Conaie-led protests that fiercely opposed the elimination of the subsidy.

Ahead of Sunday’s vote, Noboa has sought to sway voters by distributing early year-end payments to civil servants, while urging the private sector to do the same. He also approved a new bonus for front-line police and military personnel.

Some 14 million voters are eligible to cast ballots. Polls open at 7 a.m. local time and close at 5 p.m., with preliminary results expected around 10 p.m.