QUITO, Feb. 11 -- With an overwhelming majority of votes, the Ecuadorean Congress has elected Fabian Alarcon (fah-bee-AHN' ah-lahr- KOHN'') as interim president, replacing Abdala Bucaram ('ab-dah-LAH' BOO-kah-RAHM') who was removed on grounds of mental incapacity. The Congress voted 57-2 in favor of the motion, with five lawmakers abstaining, one delivering a blank vote and 17 of the legislature's 82 members absent from the Tuesday night session.
The decision ended a week of political uncertainty in the South American nation, which began with a general strike accompanied by widespread protests and led to the congressional vote of no-confidence that ousted Bucaram. Alarcon was sworn in by the new congressional leader and has one year in which to stage elections for a new president, who will take office on Aug. 10, 1998. The 50-year-old lawyer who led last week's effort to remove Bucaram, garnered support from legislators throughout the day Tuesday. Prior to the congressional session, caretaker president Rosalia Arteaga ('ROH-sah-LEE'-ah AR-tay-AH'-gah') resigned in protest against the congressional action. She had been sworn in temporarily on Sunday. Alarcon, who backed Bucaram in his July, 1996 election bid, had been congressional leader since last August. He came into the limelight of Ecuadorean politics with the political trial that he launched against former vice president Alberto Dahik in 1995. Dahik fled to Costa Rica following charges of corruption against him. Bucaram left Ecuador for Panama Tuesday, saying he was embarking on a tour of several Latin American countries to seek international repudiation of his removal from office. ---
Copyright 1997 by United Press International. All rights reserved. ---
