Businessman Daniel Noboa, in the lead in the runoff for the presidency in Ecuador

Businessman Daniel Noboa advances at the head of the runoff in Ecuador, with more than 60% of the preliminary count.

The electronic voting record indicated that Noboa had a lead of 52.42% in front of 47.58% of the leftist lawyer Luisa González, with the 62.98% of the minutes counted.

If the trend continues, Noboa would become the new president of Ecuador, a country plunged into a crisis of violence for more than two years.

Noboa, the heir to the fortune of an emporium that includes the banana business, entered the race without much previous political experience and unexpectedly entered the presidential second round. He defines himself as a defender of business freedom and with a vocation for social service.

At 35 years old, Noboa would become the youngest president of Ecuador.

The candidate of the Citizen Revolution spoke out shortly after beginning the preliminary count on the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, to ask to wait for official results. “Exit polls have had serious biases and sometimes malicious errors. Let us wait calmly and determinedly; “The responsible and democratic thing is to follow the official data, trusting that the popular will will prevail.”.

The president of the National Electoral Council, Diana Atamaint, at the end of the day said that “Today Ecuador has triumphed, democracy has triumphed, respect for the popular will expressed at the polls is guaranteed by the National Electoral Council.”

“We live a true democratic festival, a day with civility”he asserted and commented that “We have the inter-institutional commitment of the National Police and the Armed Forces… so that Ecuador can vote safely.”

The winner will be the replacement for outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who called early elections after he dissolved the Assembly in May and shortened his own term to prevent a political trial seeking his removal from moving forward.

The new president will govern for about 18 months to complete Lasso’s term and will assume power in December.

Ecuadorians went to the polls on Sunday, with a 82.33% of participation, at a time when the country is experiencing the most violent and insecure period in the country, associated with organized crime.

Between the hope of some that a change will be achieved and the low expectations of others, voters began to line up early in different electoral precincts, some of which, as happened in past elections, did not finish settling in early due to because the members of the vote receiving boards did not arrive on time. Most voting centers were guarded by the military and police.

The early elections, which took place during the morning without any major problems, bury the mandate of Guillermo Lasso, after only two and a half years of administration in which violence and murders have grown exponentially, and put in the hands of one of the two debutants the citizens’ aspirations to recover peace and straighten out the economy.

Daniel Noboa, a wealthy young man and heir to a banana magnate, and Luisa González, who seeks to reinstate the legacy of a leftist current that was in power for ten years, faced each other in an unprecedented presidential battle for both of them. Until now, they had played a rather secondary political role.

González, after voting in the small town called Canuto, 197 kilometers southwest of the capital, and in the midst of a strong police and military operation, said that “we have full faith, hope that Ecuador is going to take a turn towards dignity towards a homeland of rights and calling on everyone to vote with memory.” He was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Noboa voted in the town of Olón, on the central coast of the country and about 306 kilometers southwest of the capital. “I believe that the trend is irreversible and today we begin to build a new Ecuador”the candidate told the AP and trusted that on election day “what the people want will be respected… progress, employment and that young people have hope.”

After voting, Noboa left protected by a large security deployment of military, police and private guards. He was also wearing a bulletproof vest.

Minutes before the polls opened, Lasso called on the Ecuadorian people to have a civic day in peace and “thinking about the best for their children, their parents and the country.”

He added that the government will ensure security, transparency and respect for the popular will expressed at the polls.

The polls close at 17:00 local (2200 GMT). In Ecuador, voting is mandatory for citizens between 18 and 64 years old and optional for adolescents from 16 and 17 years old and adults over 65.

Julio Ricaurte, a 59-year-old engineer, near one of the electoral precincts in the north of the capital, told the AP that “I don’t expect much from this election, first because the president will have little time to do anything, and second because the Assembly in our country is an organization that prevents anyone who comes to power from governing.”

In a first evaluation of the day, the police commander, General César Zapata, highlighted that on Sunday there were two alerts of explosive devices, to the north and south of Quito, which turned out to be false. He also said that 174 people had been arrested for violating the prohibition law.

The National Electoral Council reported that a member of a voting committee was arrested while intoxicated and that he had scored about 14 votes in favor of one of the candidates, in a small town in the Amazon.

Rosa Amaguaña, 62 years old and a fruit and vegetable seller, told the AP that “I have hope that the country will change, yes it can, the next president must be able to do something” and asserted that security “is the first thing that must be solved,” while Samuel Salazar, a 34-year-old entrepreneur, noted that “I would love for at least a little of what they offer in the campaign to be fulfilled, that would be enough.”

Whoever wins with a simple majority of votes will govern for only 18 months, until May 2025, which is the period remaining to complete Lasso’s mandate, following his long-standing decision to dissolve the Assembly to prevent a legislative impeachment trial from ending. an alleged case of energy corruption within his government.

González, with a 33.61% of popular support, and Noboa, with the 23.47% of the votes, they were winners of the first electoral round on August 20. Eight presidential candidates ran, although one of them, Fernando Villavicencio, was shot dead while leaving a political event in the north of the capital, days before the first round and was replaced by his friend and journalist Christian Zurita.

After this, the presidential candidates have an important security device from the public force and wear bulletproof vests in all their public appearances. Authorities said that nearly 90,000 soldiers and police would guard the elections.

The murder of the candidate is part of a crisis of insecurity and violence that has hit Ecuador for three years, placing it among the most dangerous countries in the region with a record number in 2022 of 4,600 violent deaths.

The Electoral Council anticipated that the Ecuadorian presidential election that was to be held in Israel, Russia, Belarus and Nicaragua will not be able to take place due to various inconveniences that have prevented the election day.

On Sunday, the elections for national assembly members will also be held for Ecuadorians residing abroad in a vote that corresponded to the first round and that had to be repeated due to failures in the electronic voting system. With this, the allocation of seats in the legislature, which is made up of 137 assembly members, will be completed.

Source: AP