37. The TSE held its inaugural session on December 3, 1998, electing Mr. Aguinaga Aillón Vice President,24 and he was elected President on December 7, 2000.25 The National Congress re-elected Mr. Aguinaga Aillón to serve as a regular member of the TSE on January 9, 2003, for an additional four-year term,26 and he took office on January 14, 2003.27 D. Dismissal of Mr. Aguinaga from the Supreme Electoral Tribunal 38. The opposition parties in the National Congress were engaged on November 9, 2004, in preparing impeachment proceedings against the President of Ecuador for the crime of embezzlement. The administration counteracted the impeachment proceedings by building a congressional majority and working out political agreements with several parties, including the Ecuadorian Roldosist Party (Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano, hereinafter PRE). The leader of the PRE, former President of Ecuador Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz, sought the suspension of several criminal trials currently pending before the Supreme Court, for which he was under an arrest warrant and was a fugitive in Panama.28 39. President Lucio Gutiérrez announced on November 23, 2004, that the administration would send the Congress a proposal to reorganize the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, and the Supreme Court.29 40. The National Congress issued Resolution 25-160 on November 25, 2004, removing the regular members from their positions on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal and the Constitutional Court. The “whereas” clauses of the congressional resolution read as follows: [...] That the people of Ecuador are unanimous in demanding the end of the situation of institutional chaos prevailing in the public institutions; That the regular and alternate members of the Constitutional Court were appointed illegally; That the regular and alternate members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal were appointed without consideration of the provisions of Article 209 of the Constitution and laws of Ecuador [...]30. 41. The Congress therefore ordered, as applied to this case: [...] 24 Cf. Certification, November 15, 1999 (evidence file, folio 1785). 25 Cf. Certification, February 1, 2001 (evidence file, folio 1787). 26 Cf. Resolution of appointment as a regular member, January 9, 2003 (evidence file, folio 1789). 27 Cf. Record of investiture, January 14, 2003 (evidence file, folio 1791). 28 Cf. Case of the Supreme Court of Justice (Quintana Coello et al.) v. Ecuador, supra, para. 64, and Case of the Constitutional Court (Camba Campos et al.) v. Ecuador, supra, para. 55. 29 Cf. Case of the Supreme Court of Justice (Quintana Coello et al.) v. Ecuador, supra, para. 65, and Case of the Constitutional Court (Camba Campos et al.) v. Ecuador, supra, para. 56. Cf. Resolution R-25-160 of the National Congress, November 25, 2004, published in the Official Gazette No. 378 (evidence file, folios 1795 and 1796). 30 13