Ecuador voters punish Noboa, reject proposals

ECUADOR’ Donald Trump-aligned President Daniel Noboa was dealt a major blow at the weekend by voters who spurned his plans for a return of foreign military bases to the country battling rampant cartel violence.

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Despite opinion polls projecting a comfortable referendum victory for the millennial president, Ecuadorans roundly rejected all four of his proposals.

Besides an overwhelming “No” to overturning a ban on foreign military bases, voters also shot down proposals to end public funding for political parties, to reduce the number of lawmakers, and to draft a new constitution.

Analysts say Noboa was unable to convince the electorate that his ideas were the best way to deal with what is a very real problem of sky-high crime and murder rates.

Noboa last year deployed the military to Ecuador's crime-riddled prisons and streets, and raised taxes to fund his war on drug gangs - also a major focus of US President Trump.