QUITO, Oct. 16 -- A total of 58 international observers from 17 countries will be deployed to guarantee the transparency of Sunday's municipal and provincial elections in Ecuador.

The observers will also assess the efficiency of a pilot project for electronic ballot boxes, said the office of the Organization of American States on Saturday.

Some 8.6 million Ecuadorians are registered to vote for 22 provincial prefects, 219 mayors, 893 town councilors and 3,970 rural-community councilors.