Polls Close In Ecuador’s Razor-tight Presidential Runoff

Polls closed in Ecuador’s too-close-to-call presidential election Sunday, with incumbent Daniel Noboa hoping to fend off a charismatic leftist challenger after a marketing campaign dominated by drug-related violence.

The 37-year-old president narrowly received February’s first spherical, however not by sufficient to keep away from one other duel in opposition to a resurgent Luisa Gonzalez, who’s bidding to turn into Ecuador’s first girl president.

The marketing campaign was dominated by anger over the lackluster financial system and cartel violence that has reworked Ecuador from one of many most secure international locations in Latin America into essentially the most lethal.

In the volcano-ringed capital Quito, voters wrapped up in opposition to the Andean chill and flocked to the polling stations.

“I believe Ecuador is split, however I believe all of us perceive we’re in a scenario the place we have now to unite, whoever is main the federal government,” mentioned 21-year-old structure pupil Camila Medina.

In complete, about 13.7 million Ecuadorans had been obliged to vote.

On the eve of the poll, Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency within the capital and a number of other provinces, underscoring the tense state of affairs.

This once-peaceful nation averaged a killing each hour in the beginning of the 12 months, as cartels vied for management over cocaine routes that cross by Ecuador’s ports.

Noboa, the guitar-strumming son of a billionaire banana magnate, has staked his political fortunes on “iron fist” safety insurance policies designed to snuff out the gangs.

He has deployed the navy to the streets, captured drug capos and invited the USA to ship particular forces.

Against this, 47-year-old single mom Gonzalez has pitched herself as a political everywoman, born to a humble household and laser-focused on enhancing the lot of poor Ecuadorans.

She could have a rising constituency. Rampant bloodshed has spooked buyers and vacationers alike, fueling financial malaise and swelling the ranks of Ecuador’s poor to twenty-eight % of the inhabitants.

Ecuador faces two very totally different paths relying on which candidate wins.

A Noboa win would possible see him double down on hardline safety insurance policies and additional nurture a budding bromance with US President Donald Trump.

If Gonzalez wins, it will sign a pointy shift to the left and a probable cooling of Ecuador’s relations with the USA.

Gonzalez is intently allied with ex-president Rafael Correa, who delighted in lobbing barbs at Washington throughout his decade in workplace.

He now lives in exile in Belgium, avoiding a corruption conviction he claims is politically motivated. He stays a deeply polarizing determine in his homeland.

“We’re going to make historical past for Ecuador!” Gonzalez instructed supporters whereas voting in her hometown close to the Pacific coast. “We’re able to defend democracy.”

In February’s first spherical of voting lower than a share level, or 17,000 votes, separated Noboa and Gonzalez.

Each candidates on Thursday held ultimate marketing campaign occasions in Guayaquil, the nation’s largest metropolis, financial capital and the epicenter of drug violence.

Gonzalez made a late play for girls voters, proposing low-interest loans of as much as $40,000 for single moms.

Throughout Noboa’s time in energy, she mentioned, “violence, poverty and unemployment has hit us girls hardest.”

Noboa introduced himself as an outsider and the candidate of change.

“The nation doesn’t need to be mistreated by the identical outdated politicians,” he mentioned, concentrating on his rival’s ties with former president Correa.

Some analysts concern a decent consequence might spark claims of fraud and result in a authorities with a weak mandate.

“If the distinction could be very small, the federal government can be born with an issue: It has virtually half the nation in opposition to it, and that weighs closely, making it harder to manipulate,” mentioned Simon Pachano of the social sciences institute FLACSO.