[{"bbox": [96, 151, 1134, 231], "category": "Text", "text": "0.312 but being relatively well ranked comparatively to the rest of the world. The country stands at the 32nd rank for presence of women in parliament and 29th for women in ministerial positions with respectively a score of 0.631 and 0.471 for the GDI⁸."}, {"bbox": [96, 243, 1134, 432], "category": "Text", "text": "In March 2020, in Ecuador, there were 485 325 persons in the National Disability Register, of whom 213 263 were women (43.94%). According to the Tenth periodic report of Ecuador presented to the CEDAW body, many interventions contributed to improving life of persons with disabilities to only quote Education and Health sectors. However, no initiative is noted among those taken by the National Council for Gender Equality with the National Electoral Council and the Democracy Institute is recorded that guarantee to persons with disability/ies and more particularly women, the right to political participation pursuant to the principle of equality and non-discrimination either in terms of accessibility and/or participation⁹."}, {"bbox": [96, 442, 1134, 602], "category": "Text", "text": "Recent elections have shown a deepening of political fragmentation in the country, with more than 280 participating organisations and a disproportionate number of candidates for equal dignity, which not only increases operational complexity in elections, but also challenges the legitimacy and stability of democratic processes. The consolidation of political organisations, citizen participation and the promotion of an inclusive civil society are thus key factors in ensuring quality democracy. In this context, electoral institutional strengthening should be seen as contributing to trust and social cohesion and democratic governance."}, {"bbox": [96, 613, 1134, 934], "category": "Text", "text": "Ecuador has a solid legal framework that enforces the validity, application and claiming of women's rights supported by the Ecuadorian Constitution, which specifically addresses gender equality under its chapters 1 and 2; and the international binding instruments ratified by the Ecuadorian State as well as a few initiated legal reforms. However, Gender Equality is not yet considered as a priority in the National Development Framework and objectives with no specific targets to reduce the gender gap. The country has a national policy on gender equality (The Equality Agenda) but the investment on gender equality policies, as registered by the Bench marker of Expenditures on Gender Equality Policies, represents less than 2% of the government's budget with no institutional mechanisms that can monitor and measure this investment. It is worth however to highlight that country wise, several surveillance and monitoring projects of local government's investments have shown better levels of communication between women organizations and authorities; the creation and institutionalization of specialized instances on gender equality at local level; and the budgeting of public funds to women driven demands. However, these are pilot experiences not picked up by most territories¹⁰."}, {"bbox": [96, 944, 1134, 1052], "category": "Text", "text": "Hence, institutional strengthening, including the respect for the rule of law and the separation of powers, is ever more necessary to increase citizens' trust and political stability in the country. In this sense, the EU sees the strengthening of political organisations, citizen participation and the consolidation of an inclusive civil society throughout the electoral cycle, as programmatic priorities."}, {"bbox": [96, 1063, 1134, 1330], "category": "Text", "text": "In June 2022, the national demonstrations evidenced the general disaffection with both the Executive and the Legislature, which they see as unable to consider, channel and address the most pressing social demands of great parts of the population. In this regard, the upcoming 2023 local elections will be central to the country's democracy. On the one hand, elected local duty-bearers have a direct impact on the lives of citizens as they have key competences such as the provision of basic services, productive promotion, and rural development, among others. On the other hand, the representatives will also vote for the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), a key institution for the designation of authorities such as the Ombudsman, the Comptroller General of the State and Superintendents, as well as having an influence on the appointment of certain authorities in the electoral and judicial function. Finally, there is a possibility for the executive to call for a popular consultation during these elections, inter alia, to reform the judicial system and the existence of the CPCCS."}, {"bbox": [96, 1341, 1134, 1474], "category": "Text", "text": "Elections are a crucial moment for the political life of any democratic country, therefore it is important for the international cooperation to continue supporting the democratic strengthening of the country, including actions at post-electoral and pre-electoral times. In these phases, organised civil society and other international stakeholders can play a key role in promoting citizen participation, improving transparency in the use of public resources and accountability of elected authorities."}, {"bbox": [86, 1548, 952, 1573], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁸ WEF_GGGR_2022.pdf (weforum.org), yearly published since 2006 by the World Economic Forum"}, {"bbox": [86, 1572, 1140, 1622], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁹ Thanks to the 140 district inclusion support units, 1,318 persons with disabilities were integrated into the national education system in 2017."}, {"bbox": [86, 1621, 558, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹⁰ Ecuador | UN Women – Americas and the Caribbean"}, {"bbox": [1037, 1680, 1144, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 9 of 32"}]