The CNE regulates the early electoral advertising of candidates for the CPCCS

The Plenary of the National Electoral Council (CNE) issued the Regulation for the Control and Oversight of Electoral Advertising for Candidates for Councilors of the Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control (CPCCS), through resolution PLE-CNE-2-26-10-2026. The regulation is contained in the Official Registry, Sixth Supplement No. 399, of Wednesday, October 28, 2026, consisting of 21 pages and a regulation of twenty articles that entered into force upon its promulgation in said bulletin.

The regulation was approved in Ordinary Session No. 089-PLE-CNE-2026, held virtually on October 26, 2026, with the votes in favor of:

• José Cabrera Zurita, President of the CNE;
• Esthela Acero Lanchimba, Vice President;
• Enrique Pita García, Councilor;
• José Merino Abad, Councilor.

The certification of the text corresponds to the general secretary Betty Consuelo Báez Villagómez. The regulation develops the third unnumbered article following article 35 of the Organic Law of the CPCCS, which prohibits proselytizing by parties, movements, and public officials in this election, and incorporates the jurisprudential rule of the Electoral Contentious Court established in Case No. 111-2023-TCE (Accumulated) of May 8, 2024, which assimilated social media posts and non-traditional media seeking to mobilize popular will as electoral advertising. It also considers judgment 11-18-IN/24 of August 29, 2024, from the Constitutional Court, which partially declared that same unnumbered article unconstitutional.

Pre-campaign, campaign, and electoral silence

Article 8 defines the early campaign or pre-campaign as any act of propaganda or electoral advertising carried out before the period fixed for the campaign, without affecting the right to freedom of expression of candidates, citizens, and social organizations. Article 9 reserves for the CNE the determination of the start and end dates of the campaign, with equitable promotion of names, trajectories, and proposals.

Electoral silence governs from 48 hours before the elections until 17:00 on the day of voting. During this period, promotion, propaganda, or electoral advertising in traditional media, non-traditional media, and social networks, as well as rallies and gatherings, are prohibited. Additionally, provincial electoral delegations and electoral boards will remove propaganda located within a perimeter of up to 100 meters around the polling stations.

Monitoring of media, billboards, and social networks

Article 11 entrusts monitoring to the National Directorate of Oversight and Control of Electoral Spending and the decentralized technical units, with a technical and documentary nature. Before each process, the National Coordination for the Development of Electoral Information Products and Services will identify the four social networks with the greatest reach and influence nationwide, which will be subject to mandatory monitoring, and the CNE will request the updated Public Registry of Media. Control includes public roads, fixed and mobile billboards, and events with the possible use of public resources, and may be supported by specialized legal entities contracted for this purpose.

The deadlines for candidacies are limited:

• Report within three days the user accounts and digital spaces that will be used to disseminate content regarding their candidacy.
• Update this information within three days from the creation or enabling of a subsequent account.
• Provide notice two days in advance of events, meetings, and public activities, including location, date, and time.
• Report interviews within two days following their realization, indicating the medium or platform.

Suspension, defenses, and disqualification

Article 14 empowers the CNE to suspend the dissemination of advertising contrary to the law, suspend public events, and refer facts that may constitute an infringement to the Electoral Contentious Court. The procedure in Article 15 provides for the registration of the alleged fault in a matrix, the collection of evidence, the technical report, and the notification to the alleged infringer, who will have three days to present defenses; faults by candidates are handled by the national instance, and those by other subjects by the provincial delegations.

The receipt or use of private financing of any kind, including own resources and third-party contributions, activates the disqualification procedure of Article 16, with a technical report, notification to the email registered in the curriculum vitae, three days to argue, and a final resolution by the Plenary. Debates may only be organized by academia and the Institute for Research, Training, and Political-Electoral Promotion (IDD), under conditions of parity, pluralism, and equity.

The impact is direct for media outlets, digital platforms, and aspirants: for the first time, the CNE has a regulated procedure to monitor the propaganda of the CPCCS outside the spaces financed by the organization itself, with short response deadlines and disqualification as the maximum sanction for the use of private money.

Source: Official Registry, Sixth Supplement No. 399, October 28, 2026, Electoral Function, p. 7 (official reference: PLE-CNE-2-26-10-2026).