AFP, QUITO
Incumbent Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on Sunday clutched onto a razor-thin lead in a violence-hit election, after a stronger-than-expected challenge from a leftist rival who looked set to force a second-round runoff.
With about 90 percent of the ballots counted, Noboa had garnered 44.4 percent of the vote and rival Luisa Gonzalez was on 43.9 percent, official results showed.
Gonzalez, a 47-year-old single mother of two, told elated supporters in Quito that they had achieved a “great victory” by forcing what she called a “statistical tie.”
Presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez addresses a gathering of her supporters in Quito, Ecuador, on Sunday.
Photo: Reuters
“We have won,” she claimed.
The telegenic lawyer-turned-lawmaker had trailed heavily in pre-election surveys. Some exit polls had even predicted that Noboa would garner the 50 percent of votes needed to avoid a head-to-head contest in April.
The election was seen by many as a referendum on the nation’s stalled economy, and on Noboa’s hardline security response in the face of record rates of murder, kidnapping and extortion.
In just a few years, cartels vying for control of Pacific ports and lucrative cocaine trading routes to Europe and Asia have transformed Ecuador from one of the safest nations in the world to one of the most dangerous.
During his 15 months in office Noboa has declared a state of emergency, deployed the army to the streets and gathered extraordinary executive powers to curb cartel violence.
He deployed heavily armed troops to polling stations on election day, and the land borders with Colombia and Peru were closed.
Both Noboa and Gonzalez were shadowed at public events by a phalanx of special forces, hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2023 election, when a leading candidate was assassinated.
“We’re only human. Of course, you feel afraid,” Gonzalez said from her childhood home on the eve of the vote.
The only election-related incidents were about 20 people cited for breaking a strict three-day alcohol ban.
At 37, Noboa is one of the world’s youngest leaders.
He has bet his political fortunes on a slick social media campaign that underscores his youth and vigor, and a hardline approach to tackling crime.
On the eve of the vote he posted a video of himself in a white T-shirt and sneakers, strumming an acoustic guitar and crooning in English — a striking contrast to his “iron fist” security policies.
