Ecuador: President Noboa's Referendum Defeated, Overwhelming 'No' to Constituent Assembly and US Military Bases

Caracas (OrinocoTribune.com)—Ecuadorian voters have delivered a decisive rejection of far-right President Daniel Noboa’s key referendum proposals. Official results show a majority oppose a constituent assembly and a potential US military base on Ecuadorian soil.

According to Ecuador’s National Electoral Council (CNE), with 96% of polling stations counted, the call for a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution was rejected by 61.58% of voters. Of the four questions, this one had the highest rejection rate nationwide.

The proposal to install foreign military bases, prohibited by the current constitution drafted in 2008, was rejected by 60.58% of voters. However, analysts claim that Noboa will attempt to circumvent the will of the people on this issue.

Ecuadoran voters roundly rejected the return of US military bases to the country in a referendum Sunday, a major political blow to Trump-friendly President Daniel Noboahttps://t.co/z7sNa0rpA3 pic.twitter.com/NSomudG1qe
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 17, 2025

The other two proposals—the elimination of state funding for political parties and a reduction in the number of legislators in the National Assembly—were rejected by 58.07% and 53.46%, respectively.

The response from citizens in defense of sovereignty was emphatic and represents a major setback for the Ecuadorian ruler. In early November, Noboa toured strategic sites for the potential installation of US bases, the towns of Manta and Salinas, with US Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. The Galapagos Islands had also been pointed to as a potential location.

The election day, which drew over 13.9 million Ecuadorians, proceeded peacefully with no major incidents of violence reported. The president of the CNE highlighted that voter turnout exceeded 80%. The preliminary results represent a significant political setback for the Noboa administration, which sought to validate its full alignment with Washington’s policies through popular support.

“Our commitment does not change; it strengthens. We will continue fighting tirelessly for the country you deserve, with the tools we have,” Noboa said after acknowledging the defeat.

Venezuela’s reaction
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil, on behalf of “the land of Simón Bolívar,” sent congratulations to the people of Ecuador on the results. Venezuela celebrated the majority of Ecuadorian citizens rejecting the “sell-out policies” of the “corrupt and drug-trafficking-linked” government of Daniel Noboa.

Through social media, Gil described the majority decision as a great political and historic victory, writing that Ecuadorians gave “a demonstration of greatness, taking the path towards the reconquest of popular victories and a new stage of struggle against those who have wanted to destroy it with corruption, violence, and subjugation.”

ALBA-TCP
In a statement, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) welcomed the results.

“The member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) salute the great victory of the Ecuadorian people, expressed today in the popular consultation, where they emphatically reaffirmed their commitment to national sovereignty, self-determination, and the inalienable right to decide their own destiny,” the statement read.

The international organization noted that “the results demonstrate the will of a nation forged in the mettle of Marshal Antonio José de Sucre, the courage of Manuela Sáenz, the firmness of Eloy Alfaro, and the liberating spirit of Simón Bolívar; reaffirming itself as a people heir to the dignity and strength of our independence heroes.”

Former President Correa
On Monday, in an interview with Telesur, former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa described the results as a “tremendous defeat” of Noboa’s government, whom he accused of manipulation and having come to power through fraud in the last presidential election.

During the interview, Correa claimed that the overwhelming victory of the “No” vote proves that the current president never had popular support attributed to him. “How can you explain that after seven months of having won ‘overwhelmingly,’ he loses a referendum overwhelmingly? It is clear he never had the percentage they claimed. It was all a fraud,” he added.

Correa emphasized that the Ecuadorian people perceived the referendum as a “dishonest maneuver” to validate a government they consider illegitimate.

Colombia’s Petro
Through social media, Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that the 60% “No” vote validates what he had personally expressed to President Daniel Noboa: “In Ecuador, there can be a national dialogue that allows us to defend the country from the mafias that overwhelm it.”

Petro placed special emphasis on the rejection of US military bases, which proposed eliminating the constitutional ban on establishing them.

He urged the search for “better institutional ways” to coordinate the region’s military and police forces against organized crime, which he described as the main common enemy.

Ecuador’s President Considering Locations for Foreign Military Bases

For the Colombian president, the constituent power should be used to refound a confederation that could solve common problems, reiterating the vision of a “Great Bolivarian plurinational state,” initially founded by Simón Bolívar in the 19th century.

Gran Colombia was formed by Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama. However, it only lasted 12 years and disbanded after Bolivar’s death in 1830.

Recently, President Petro has been reiterating the importance of refounding Gran Colombia. His proposal has received a positive reception from many in the region who dream of having a more powerful nation to better resist manipulation by Washington.

Special for Orinoco Tribune by staff

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