Quito, November 18: Ecuadorians have rejected a proposal to allow the return of foreign military bases, dealing a significant blow to President Daniel Noboa’s security agenda, early referendum results showed on Sunday.
With nearly 90% of ballots counted, close to two-thirds of voters opposed the measure, which would have opened the door for foreign forces — including the United States — to operate from Ecuadorian territory. The result blocks any possibility of restoring U.S. military access to the Manta airbase on the Pacific coast, once a key hub for Washington’s anti-drug operations before Ecuador banned foreign bases in 2008.
A separate referendum question to convene an assembly to rewrite the constitution also failed, with more than 61% of voters rejecting the proposal, according to the national electoral authority.
Noboa, who had argued that foreign military cooperation was essential to combating organised crime, acknowledged the defeat in a post on X. “We respect the will of the Ecuadorian people,” he wrote. “Our commitment does not change; it strengthens. We will continue to fight tirelessly for the country that you deserve, with the tools that we have.”
Voters also rejected two additional proposals: cutting public funding for political parties and reducing the size of the National Assembly from 151 lawmakers to 73. Early tallies showed both measures failing by wide margins. The results represent a setback for Noboa’s efforts to strengthen security policy amid rising violence linked to criminal groups, leaving his government to pursue alternative strategies without foreign military installations.
