section_path: Presidency (2023–present)/2024 and 2025/Feud with outgoing Vice President Verónica Abad Rojas
section_name: Feud with outgoing Vice President Verónica Abad Rojas
paragraph_text: Feud with outgoing Vice President Verónica Abad Rojas
  
  Upon their inauguration in November 2023, both Noboa and Abad Rojas distanced themselves from each other, with Abad Rojas launching personal attacks against Noboa. She did not appear in the inaugural photo of the cabinet and subsequently was appointed ambassador to Israel. Shortly thereafter, she was ordered to move to Istanbul within three days. Abad Rojas called these decisions a "forced exile".
  
  In June 2024, Abad Rojas survived an impeachment attempt by the Noboa government due to legal issues. In November 2024, she was suspended from the vice presidency by the labor ministry for 150 days. Noboa named Secretary of National Planning Sariha Moya as acting vice president. Abad Rojas' suspension was lifted by a judge in December 2024, along with an order for the labor ministry to give her an apology for the suspension.
  
  According to Ecuador's electoral law, the president is required to take a leave of absence during the presidential campaign and appoint the elected vice-president to act as president temporarily. Noboa refused to appoint Abad Rojas as interim president during the election campaign. Instead, in January 2025, he appointed Cynthia Gellibert as Vice President with temporary presidential responsibilities during the campaign.
  
  On 30 March 2025, Noboa caused controversy for ignoring the Constitutional Court and appointing Cynthia Gellibert by decree as vice president, suspending Abad Rojas once again. She was disenfranchised for two years by the country's electoral tribunal in a 3–2 decision on a gender-based political violence counterclaim filed by Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld, following Abad Rojas' initial lawsuit against Noboa and others for alleged harassment. Analysts said Noboa was focused on institutional stability and a leadership aligned with his vision of government, which reinforced his political strategy in the wake of this election.