Via the BBC: Correa ‘to shut’ Ecuador Congress

Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa has said he will dissolve the national Congress after claiming victory in constituent assembly elections.

Preliminary results show Mr Correa’s Alianza Pais party with a strong majority in the assembly, which is to write a new constitution.

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A final tally of votes could take days to determine given the complexity of the vote, but an early official count has given Alianza Pais 80 seats, many more than the 66 needed to control the 130-seat assembly.

It is unclear as to exactly when the Congress will be sent packing, but it would appear that “soon” is the answer. That means that there will be no legislative branch in Ecuador for some time (not that it has much of a functional one at the moment). The Constituent Assembly won’t have a new constitution for six to eight months and even once the draft is finished, there has to be a referendum to approve it. From there elections will be needed. A liberal estimate would say that it will take close to a year before a new congress can be elected and seated.