Close to a Thousand People Detained During General Elections in Ecuador

Close to a Thousand People Detained During General Elections in Ecuador

During the anticipated general elections in Ecuador, law enforcement agencies conducted a substantial security deployment that resulted in the arrest of 945 individuals on charges related to different crimes. Fausto Salinas, the Commander General of the Ecuadorian Police, revealed that these arrests were made as part of security operations conducted during the early general elections.

Types of Crimes and Arrests

Commander Salinas provided insights into the nature of the arrests, stating that they included a wide range of offenses. These included one arrest for false suffrage, 22 arrests for the possession and carrying of weapons, and numerous arrests for attack and resistance.

“In the total number of detainees on this election day, since the operation has been in force, there are 945 detainees for some causes such as common crimes and pressure ballots,” stated Salinas, as reported by local media.

(Read Also: Ecuador’s Presidential Race Heads to Runoff Between Socialist and Entrepreneur Candidates)

Enforcement of Prohibition Law and Alcohol Consumption

In the context of the prohibition law, 92 operations were conducted to control the consumption of alcoholic beverages during the election period. These operations resulted in the issuance of 271 tickets (court orders), 221 urgent arrests, 39 captures related to different crimes, and 11 assistance tickets. The majority of citations were related to violations of the dry law, which prohibits the consumption of alcohol. Salinas also highlighted summonses for attempting to vote while under the influence of alcohol.

(Read Also: Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake Strikes Southern Ecuador and Northern Peru)

False Alerts and Attempted Sabotage

Among the security incidents, Salinas noted that there were three false alerts, resulting in two arrests for identity theft. Additionally, there was an attempt to sabotage the transelectric telecommunications system in the coastal province of Manabí.

(Read Also: Unconventional Candidates Shake Up Ecuador’s Political Landscape as Luisa González Leads Polls)

Large Police Deployment and High Voter Turnout

The security operations for the early general elections involved the participation of 53,707 police officers. These operations coincided with an election in which more than 13.4 million Ecuadorians were called to vote. According to the country’s electoral body, a high voter turnout of 82.26% was recorded. The election will now proceed to a second round scheduled for October.