Ecuador’s Vice President suspended by court for two years; politician claims it’s politically motivated

Medellín Colombia – An Ecuadorian judge has suspended Vice President Veronica Abad’s political rights for two years and presented her with a fine of USD $14,100, finding her guilty of gender violence. 

The ruling, issued on February 27 by Judge Guillermo Ortega Caicedo of the Ecuadorian Electoral Dispute Settlement Court could prevent Abad from completing public duties and put her position as the country’s Vice President at risk.

Abad, whose recently had a 150 day suspension overturned, claims that the President is trying to sideline her and distract from other political crises.

The latest blow to the embattled Vice President comes after Chancellor Gabriela Sommerfeld filed a complaint against her for alleged acts of political gender violence in October 2024.

In his ruling, Caicedo found Abad guilty of committing infractions listed in Articles 279 and 278 of the electoral law found in Ecuador’s Democratic Code, which prohibit the restriction of a woman’s political rights, including the right to a free and discrete vote.

The Vice President “disseminated and positioned a message through virtual media, based on a gender stereotype that conveys and reproduces relations of domination, inequality and discrimination” to undermine Sommerfeld’s public image, said the judge in reference to Item 7 of Article 280.  

The ruling comes just three months after Abad was suspended for a period of 150 days on November 9 2024 after the Ministry of Labour accused her of “unjustified abandonment of her post.” 

Abad, who had been appointed as the Ambassador to Israel in Ecuador, received an order to travel from Tel Aviv, Israel to Ankara, Turkey on September 1 but arrived eight days later. 

In an interview with El Pais shortly after being suspended last year, Abad claimed the order was issued by President Daniel Noboa, who selected her to be his running mate during the 2023 General Elections. 

“He only had this or killing me to prevent my succession,” said Abad. 

As Vice President, Abad would be the natural successor to Noboa in the event of his removal or incapacitation. On December 23 the suspension was lifted by an Ecuadorian judge who found it to be unconstitutional. 

The latest sanction was announced less than three months before a run-off ballot scheduled for May 24 in which Noboa will compete with left-wing candidate Luisa González. It is the latest development in ongoing tensions within Ecuador’s right-wing government, which have been observed by media outlets since it assumed office in November 2023. 

Abad insisted in an address to the media outside of the National Assembly that her sanction was merely a smokescreen to distract the public from more important matters, including the forced disappearance, torture and murder of four boys of afro descent in December. 

“I repeat #Ecuador don’t be distracted by smoke screens and empty subtleties”, she wrote on X on March 2.

Noboa appointed Planning Minister Sariha Moya as interim Vice President in January and she continues to serve in this capacity. 

The sentence allows Abad to appeal the decision within three days, to which the judge would have two days to respond. The process could take up to three months to complete. 

Whilst the Associated Press reported that Abad is preparing to contest the ruling, the Vice President has yet to publicly announce an appeal against the electoral court’s decision on Friday. 

Featured image credit: via Fernando Sandoval / Asamblea Nacional available at https://flickr.com/photos/asambleanacional/albums/72177720312878070/ , https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/