Ecuadorian President renews cabinet after defeat in local polls

Quito, Feb 10 Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has reshuffled his cabinet and appointed four new provincial governors after the ruling party was defated in the recent local elections.

"The decision to renew my team is meant to strengthen actions, plans and projects to continue building a better country for everyone," Xinhua news agency quoted Lasso as saying at the presidential palace on Thursday, describing the changes as "necessary adjustments".

The reshuffle covered the General Secretariat of the Public Administration of the Presidency, the General Secretariat of the Cabinet, the Ministry of Government, the Secretariat for Management and Development of Peoples and Nationalities, and the Legal Secretariat to the President.

Lasso, who will complete his term in 2025, also appointed new governors for the coastal provinces of Guayas, El Oro and Esmeraldas as well as for the central province of Cotopaxi.

The President also accepted the resignation of Aparicio Caicedo, who had served as a government advisor.

The changes were made after the government's bad results in Sunday's constitutional referendum and in provincial and cantonal elections.

The referendum proposed by the president contained eight questions that implied changes in the Constitution on security, democracy, justice and environmental protection.

Two days after the elections, Lasso accepted defeat, saying it was a call to attention to the government.