<hdr>The World Factbook 1994: Ecuador<nl>Government</hdr><body>
<list>
<item><hi format=bold>Names:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional long form:</hi> Republic of Ecuador
<item>• <hi format=ital>conventional short form:</hi> Ecuador
<item>• <hi format=ital>local long form:</hi> Republica del Ecuador
<item>• <hi format=ital>local short form:</hi> Ecuador
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Digraph:</hi> EC
<item><hi format=bold>Type:</hi> republic
<item><hi format=bold>Capital:</hi> Quito
<item><hi format=bold>Administrative divisions:</hi> 21 provinces (provincias, singular—provincia); Azuay, Bolivar, Canar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Galapagos, Guayas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Manabi, Morona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamora-Chinchipe
<item><hi format=bold>Independence:</hi> 24 May 1822 (from Spain)
<item><hi format=bold>National holiday:</hi> Independence Day, 10 August (1809) (independence of Quito)
<item><hi format=bold>Constitution:</hi> 10 August 1979
<item><hi format=bold>Legal system:</hi> based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
<item><hi format=bold>Suffrage:</hi> 18 years of age; universal, compulsory for literate persons ages 18-65, optional for other eligible voters
<item><hi format=bold>Executive branch:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>chief of state and head of government:</hi> President Sixto DURAN BALLEN Cordovez (since 10 August 1992); Vice President Alberto DAHIK Garzoni (since 10 August 1992); election runoff election held 5 July 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results—Sixto DURAN BALLEN elected as president and Alberto DAHIK elected as vice president
<item>• <hi format=ital>cabinet:</hi> Cabinet; appointed by the president
<item><hi format=bold>National Congress (Congreso Nacional):</hi> elections last held 17 May 1992 (next to be held 1 May 1994); results —percent of vote by party NA; seats—(77 total) PSC 20, PRE 15, PUR 12, ID 7, PC 6, DP 5, PSE 3, MPD 3, PLRE 2, CFP 2, FRA 1, APRE 1
<item><hi format=bold>Political parties and leaders:</hi>
<item><hi format=bold>Center-Right parties:</hi> Social Christian Party (PSC), Jaime NEBOT Saadi, president; Republican Unity Party (PUR), President Sixto DURAN BALLEN, leader; Conservative Party (PC), Vice President Alberto DAHIK, president
<item><hi format=bold>Center-Left parties:</hi> Democratic Left (ID), Andres VALLEJO Arcos, Rodrigo BORJA Cevallos, leaders; Popular Democracy (DP), Jamil MANUAD Witt, president; Ecuadorian Radical Liberal Party (PLRE), Carlos Luis PLAZA Aray, director; Radical Alfarista Front (FRA), Jaime ASPIAZU Seminario, director
<item><hi format=bold>Populist parties:</hi> Roldista Party (PRE), Abdala BUCARAM Ortiz, director; Concentration of Popular Forces (CFP), Rafael SANTELICES, director; Popular Revolutionary Action (APRE), Frank VARGAS Passos, leader; Assad Bucaram Party (PAB), Avicena BUCARAM, leader; People, Change, and Democracy (PCD), Raul AULESTIA, director
<item><hi format=bold>Far-Left parties:</hi> Popular Democratic Movement (MPD), Jorge Fausto MORENO, director; Ecuadorian Socialist Party (PSE), Leon ROLDOS, leader; Broad Leftist Front (FADI), Jose Xavier GARAYCOA, president; Ecuadorian National Liberation (LN), Alfredo CASTILLO, director
<item><hi format=bold>Communists:</hi> Communist Party of Ecuador (PCE, pro-North Korea), Rene Leon Mague MOSWUERRA, secretary general (5,000 members); Communist Party of Ecuador/Marxist-Leninist (PCMLE, Maoist), leader NA (3,000 members)
<item><hi format=bold>Flag:</hi> three horizontal bands of yellow (top, double width), blue, and red with the coat of arms superimposed at the center of the flag; similar to the flag of Colombia that is shorter and does not bear a coat of arms