While Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) has reserved his place in the second round of Ecuadorian presidential election, with more than 32% of the votes, the battle for second place continues between Yaku Pérez of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement party and Guillermo Lasso of the right-wing Creating Opportunities ( CREO) party and Social Christian Party (PSC).
With more than 98% of the votes counted, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador gives Pérez a slight advantage over Lasso. Pérez has secured 20.10% of the votes, while Lasso obtained 19.51% of the votes. The margin of votes between them is 0.59% and it is still unclear who will be Arauz’s opponent in the run-off elections.
In the midst of this electoral uncertainty, the candidates continue to address the citizens and share their messages on social networks. Lasso has said that he will only recognize the results when 100% of the votes have been counted and has called on the population to wait for the official results.
Pérez has raised accusations of electoral fraud. He has accused former president Rafael Correa of allegedly manipulating the results to prevent him from being in the second round. He has claimed that he is “the only one who can defeat Arauz.”
At the same time, Arauz has expressed that he is ready to face whoever the Ecuadorian people choose. Yesterday, on February 9, he held another press conference, in which he reiterated that his political plan is the strongest among all candidates to confront the crises facing Ecuador.
The CNE officials are revising the tally sheets and the council is expected to release the official results by Friday, February 12.
In the general elections, held on February 7, over 13 million Ecuadorians voted for the country’s next president, vice-president, 137 legislators and 5 members of the Andean Parliament for the period 2021-2025. The run-off election will be held on April 11. As established in the Ecuadorian Constitution, the new head of state will take office on May 24, the Ecuadorian Independence Day, while the newly elected legislators will be sworn in on May 14.
