QUITO, Ecuador – All ballots from Ecuador's national referendum have been counted and voters approved all 10 of President Rafael Correa's proposals to shake up the country's institutions, electoral officials said Thursday.
One of the proposals would modify the South American country's constitution to change oversight of the court system, and another would bar owners of financial or media institutions from having other business interests.
Congress would have to act on other issues on the referendum. Those include banning casinos and bullfighting and regulating the content of newspapers and broadcasters.
Correa has said the reforms will bolster democracy. Critics of the proposals accused him of a power grab.
Fausto Camacho, spokesman for the Electoral Council, told Sonorama radio Thursday that the vote count had been completed for the May 7 referendum.
Challenges are allowed and Camacho said it would take about 15 days to study any complaints. Once challenges are addressed, final results can be declared.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox