National Congress (Ecuador)

The National Congress (Spanish: Congreso Nacional) was the unikamerale national parliament and thus the important legislative body in Ecuador. His successor is the first meeting on 31 July 2009 entered the National Assembly.

According to the Constitution of 1998, the Congress of 100 members ( Deputados ) was and had its headquarters in the capital, Quito. The deputies were elected as representatives of the provinces for a four-year period. Each of the 22 provinces presented at least two members, inhabitants rich provinces were given more seats, last one per 200,000 inhabitants. The Guayas Province presented with 18 most MPs. The largest groups in the National Congress, was at the beginning of the legislature after the election in Ecuador in 2006: Partido Renovador Institucional Acción Nacional ( PRIAN, 28), Partido Sociedad Patriótica (PSP, 24), Partido Social Cristiano (PSC, 13), Izquierda Democrática (ID, 7), Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano (PRE, 6), Pachakutik (6) Red Ética y Democracia (RED, 6) and Unión Cristiana Demócrata (UDC, 4). President of the National Congress was Jorge Cevallos ( PRIAN ), First Vice-President Edison Chavez ( PSP). PRIAN, PSP, PSC and UDC formed a majority coalition, but was abandoned by the PSP at times, as the PSP unlike their coalition partners supported the convening of a Constituent Assembly by President Correa, and sought not to actively prevent.

It is not uncommon in the parliamentary system of Ecuador that MPs in the legislature changed the party or become independents. Following the adoption of a new code of ethics could in the legislature from 2007 MPs who left their parliamentary group or were expelled from their party, their mandate revoked and be granted a substitute deputies of the party. This happened in the legislature in 2007 in the first session week, when two members of the Partido Sociedad Patriótica of ex-president Lucio Gutiérrez were excluded, one of them Ximena Bohórquez, Gutiérrez ' (living with him in separate property ) wife.

At its first meeting day on November 30, 2007 The Constituent Assembly of Ecuador 2007/ 08 adopted a decree, after entering Congress in a perpetual session break, causing the National Congress is currently de facto is not in session. Following the adoption of the new constitution in a referendum in September 2008, initially acted continue to the Commission for Legislation of the Constituent Assembly as a legislature, before the newly elected Parliament on 31 July 2009 held its first Asamblea Nacional as ( National Assembly ).