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 QUITO, Ecuador (AP) - Ecuador's constitutional crisis took a new twist as alternate lawmakers were escorted into Congress under the cover of darkness Tuesday and sworn in to replace some of the legislators fired by the country's highest electoral court.
The 21 alternate lawmakers were shuttled to the congressional building before dawn as hundreds of national police stood watch, allowing the 100-seat legislature to begin a session with a quorum for the first time in two weeks.
The crisis deepened in early March when a majority of congressmen voted to oust the president of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal for approving President Rafael Correa's version of an April 15 referendum plan on the need for a new constitution. The tribunal responded by dismissing 57 lawmakers, accusing them of trying to block the referendum.
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