La Libertad de Expresión en contextos electorales según los criterios de la Corte Constitucional del Ecuador, durante el periodo 2019-2025.

Abstract

Abstract: This paper analyzes the content and scope of the Right to Freedom of Expression in electoral contexts, based on the jurisprudence issued by the Constitutional Court of Ecuador between 2019 and 2025. By analyzing the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador through its relevant judgments, which deal with the Right to Freedom of Expression in electoral contexts, such as No. 1651-12-EP/20 and No. 282-13-JP/19, the legal criteria of legality, legitimate purpose and proportionality, which have been applied by the Court to delineate the mechanisms of protection and the scope of this right in practice, will be exposed. It is from the jurisprudential analysis that it will be possible to determine how the Court has consolidated a line of jurisprudence aimed at balancing the protection of freedom of expression with the need to maintain adequate conditions and standards of fairness in electoral contexts. These Constitutional decisions stand out for reinforcing fundamental elements for the exercise of a participatory democracy. In spite of all these attempts of progress by the Court, in bringing a vanguard law, there are still important challenges in the implementation of criteria, principles or standards, since, due to the procedures of the State power in this electoral matter, such as the National Electoral Council and the Contentious Electoral Tribunal, they continue to fall into shortcomings that undermine the correct applicability of this jurisprudence. As a consequence of this dispersed action, what is evidenced is a gap between the constitutional development and its effective application in the electoral field. This work, on the other hand, seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of the Right to Freedom of Expression as one of the essential pillars of a participatory democracy, where a free environment for public debate and access to information can be guaranteed in order to strengthen transparency, citizen participation and accountability in periods of complex democracy, such as those experienced in Ecuador.