New Delhi, Sept. 22 -- Ecuador's electoral council approved Saturday a request by President Daniel Noboa to organize a referendum asking voters to approve key changes to the nation's constitution, as its conservative government seeks more tools to fight drug-related violence.

Voters will be asked whether a prohibition against foreign military bases in Ecuador should be eliminated. And whether the state should no longer have an obligation to fund political parties.

Noboa called for the referendum through a decree issued earlier this week, which also said that voters should be asked if the nation should rewrite its constitution by organizing a constituent assembly.

On Friday, Ecuador's Constitutional Court suspended the request for voter...