Surge in support sees left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez neck and neck with incumbent President Daniel Noboa.Hard-right incumbent President Daniel Noboa and left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez are set for a second-round run-off in Ecuador’s presidential election, with preliminary results showing the pair neck and neck.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) announced that with 80 percent of the ballots from Sunday’s first-round vote tallied, Noboa had 44.4 percent. Gonzalez followed closely, securing a better-than-anticipated 44.1 percent.
The 14 other candidates in the race, dominated by a teetering economy and drug-fuelled security crisis, trailed far behind.
“If the trend is maintained, Ecuadoreans will return to the ballot box on April 13,” CNE head Diana Atamaint said at a news conference.
People vote during the presidential election, in Guayaquil, Ecuador February 9, 2025 [Reuters]
Surprise surge
The performance of 47-year-old Gonzalez, a political protege of former President Rafael Correa from the left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement party, was a surprise, driven by a surge in support.
She told elated supporters in Quito that the race was a “statistical tie”, adding that they had achieved a “great victory”.
“We have won,” she declared. Advertisement
Pre-election surveys had predicted a stronger result for Noboa, the 37-year-old son of a billionaire banana magnate who assumed office 14 months ago to finish his predecessor’s term.
He had hoped to garner the 50 percent of votes needed to avoid a head-to-head contest.
Still, the incumbent’s supporters were jubilant on Sunday, lighting fireworks in Quito and Guayaquil, the country’s two largest cities.
“We came to support the president, we want him to support us and change the country,” said 52-year-old secretary Myriam Medrano in Quito.
Referendum
The contest was widely viewed as a referendum on the country’s st …