Daniel Noboa Denounces Referendum Fraud with 'Marked Ballots'

Allegations of Referendum Fraud

• ⚠️ Daniel Noboa's government, through Minister Reinberg, claimed to have found "marked ballots" with "no" votes, alleging fraud in an upcoming referendum.
• 💬 This accusation was immediately interpreted by the speaker as a sign that Noboa's approval ratings and poll numbers are very low, prompting a "show" to distract from an impending defeat.

CNE's Clarification on Ballots

• 🔍 The National Electoral Council (CNE) and assembly member Patricia Núñez clarified that the supposed "marked ballots" were instructional material for training poll workers.
• 📚 These materials contained Latin filler text and were designed to demonstrate different voting scenarios (valid, null) for educational purposes, having no electoral validity.
• ✅ The CNE emphasized that actual electoral ballots possess inviolable security features like anti-copy effects, microtexts, barcodes, and QR codes, making falsification impossible, and are guarded by the armed forces.

Political Context and Public Sentiment

• 📈 The speaker suggests that Noboa's actions are a desperate attempt to create a spectacle because the "no" vote is leading significantly in polls for several referendum questions.
• ⚽ Despite favorable poll numbers for the "no" vote, the speaker warns against complacency, urging continued effort until the final votes are counted, comparing it to not celebrating a football victory prematurely.

Key Referendum Issues

• 💡 The speaker highlights several critical issues at stake in the referendum, including proposed changes to the IESS (social security), the potential elimination of 13th and 14th salaries, and the introduction of hourly work.
• 🏝️ Other concerns include the establishment of US military bases in Galápagos (Baltra Island) and Noboa's alleged broken promises regarding IVA increases and diesel price reductions.
• 🎯 The goal is to secure a landslide "no" victory across all questions to prevent Noboa from implementing these policies and to avoid a narrow defeat that could be manipulated.