All seven presidential candidates advocated strengthening of the security in the country and promised improvements as they stood next to fellow hopeful Fernando Villavicencio’s empty podium, who was assassinated last week

Ahead of the early general elections in Ecuador, Professor Pablo Meriguet spoke to Peoples Dispatch about the reality on the ground and the significance of the upcoming electoral process for the country

The right-wing Guillermo Lasso obtained 52.41% of the votes while progressive candidate Andrés Arauz secured 47.59% of the votes in the election held on Sunday. Arauz’s Union for Hope alliance won the most seats in the legislature

Progressive candidate Andrés Arauz denounced actions of the prosecutor’s office and the comptroller’s office to seize electronic electoral information as an attempt to prevent run-off elections from taking place.

Uncertainty looms over the electoral process in Ecuador as it has still not been made clear who will face off against front-runner Andrés Arauz in the second round and whether the process will go forward as planned

The fight for second place in the run-off elections 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) is still too close to call

Ecuador’s presidential candidate Yaku Pérez supported coups in Bolivia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. His US-backed party Pachakutik and supposedly “left-wing” environmentalist campaign is being promoted by right-wing corporate lobbyists.

Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won the first round in the Ecuadorian presidential elections that were held on February 7

According to the quick count, Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won 31.74% of the votes. However, its still unclear who his opponent will be as two candidates are technically tied for second place

According to a study conducted by well-known Ecuadorian analyst Omar Maluk, Andrés Arauz leads the voting intention with 39.2% of the votes. The study shows him with a lead of 17.4% over his nearest rival

Ahead of the general elections in Ecuador on February 7, we look at the leading candidates, their backgrounds and their answers to the major crises the country is facing today