Ecuador’s President Raises Concerns Over Election Irregularities
QUITO: Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has alleged discrepancies in the recent first-round presidential election, a claim dismissed by international observers.
The official results from Sunday’s vote placed Noboa marginally ahead, securing 44.15% of the ballots, while his opponent, leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez, garnered 43.95%. This narrow margin was even tighter than pre-election polls had suggested, prompting a runoff.
“There were numerous irregularities,” Noboa stated in a radio interview on Tuesday, asserting that his campaign’s internal calculations showed a higher vote count in his favor. He emphasized that efforts to verify the official tally were ongoing.
However, the European Union’s election monitoring team found no evidence of fraud, and the Organization of American States (OAS) reported that its preliminary assessment aligned with Ecuador’s electoral commission’s results.
Since neither candidate secured the required 50% majority for an outright win, a second-round vote is scheduled for April 13.
Noboa, a 37-year-old businessman and heir to a prominent banana export empire, has built his campaign around a tough stance on organized crime, targeting the drug cartels responsible for a spike in violence, kidnappings, and extortion.
In 2023, Ecuador’s homicide rate soared to a record 47 per 100,000 residents, but under Noboa’s administration, the figure has reportedly dropped to 38 per 100,000, according to government statistics.
Gonzalez, a 47-year-old attorney, has advocated for a crime-fighting approach that prioritizes human rights, stating that the election results reflected a strong public demand for change.
Beyond security concerns, Ecuador’s next leader will inherit significant economic challenges, including mounting national debt exacerbated by the costly battle against criminal networks and a poverty rate affecting 28% of the population.
Noboa initially took office in 2023 after his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved parliament and called for early elections to avoid impeachment over corruption allegations.
On Tuesday, Noboa doubled down on his accusations, alleging that voters had faced intimidation tactics linked to Gonzalez’s party, the Citizen Revolution Movement.
However, EU election mission chief Gabriel Mato rejected these claims, stating in Quito, “We have not identified a single concrete indication of electoral fraud.”
The upcoming runoff will determine whether Noboa continues his presidency or if Gonzalez will lead Ecuador in a new direction.
