At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Ecuador

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Rafael CORREA *
• Head of Government: President Rafael CORREA
• Assembly: Ecuador has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 124 seats.

* While CORREA was only elected in 2007, Ecuadorian voters recently approved a new constitution, which requires elections to be held for all national offices under the new constitutional regime.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by absolute majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) 124 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Rafael CORREA
  • Alliance: PAIS Alliance (Proud and Sovereign Fatherland) / Alianza PAIS (Patria Altiva I Soberana) (PAIS)
• Alvaro NOBOA
  • Party: National Action Institutional Renewal Party / Partido Renovador Institucional Acción Nacional (PRIAN)
• Lucio GUTIÉRREZ
  • Party: January 21 Patriotic Society Party / Partido Sociedad Patriótica 21 de Enero (PSP)
• Martha BUCARAM
  • Party: Ethics and Democracy Network / Red Etica y Democracia (RED/MIPD)
• Melba JACOME
  • Party: Fertile Earth Movement / Movimiento Tierra Fertil (MTF)
• Carlos GONZALEZ
  • Party: Just and Solidarity Movement / Movimiento Justo y Solidario (MIJS)
• Diego DELGADO
  • Party: Social Integration Movement / Movimiento Integracion Social (MITS)
• Carlos SAGNAY
  • Party: Thousand Victory Movement / Movimiento Triunfo Mil (MTM)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 14,573,101 (July 2009 est.)
• Registered Voters: 10,523,234 (April 2009 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,339,478 (2009)

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Ecuador ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 November 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 40 (following the 2009 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 88 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CRPD: Yes 30 March 2007

·         Has Ecuador ratified CRPD: 3 April 2008

·         Population with a disability: 2,185,965 (est.)