The Ecuadorian president made an unexpected sensation in a poll to secure a shortened term in 2023, and he was declared a winner of the presidential election in a match Sunday, demonstrating voters’ belief in him to solve the security crisis with an iron fist.
Daniel Noboa, 37, beat former President Rafael Correa, 47-year-old Luisa González.
Both candidates accused another election violation throughout the election season, Ms. Gonzalez said she said in a speech at the Citizen Revolution headquarters at the party headquarters that she did not acknowledge the election results.
“I want to become very clear and stressed that the Civil Revolution always acknowledged polls, tracking and statistics in the last election,” Ms. Gonzalez said. “Today, we don’t recognize these results.”
Mr. Noboa celebrated his victory from the coastal town of Olón.
“This day is historic,” he said. “There is no doubt who the winner is.”
The day before the election, Mr. Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven states, most of which were strongholds in Gonzalez, which raised concerns about his attempt to suppress the vote among his supporters. The statement restricts social activities and allows police and military access to the house without permission.
The president said the measure was a response to violence in certain parts of Ecuador. Ms. Gonzalez described it as an attempt to curb political participation.
“According to a state of emergency in the election process amid allegedly serious internal turmoil,” said Mauricio Alarcón Salvador, the director of the International Transparency International Chapter of Transparency International.
But he said that given Mr. Noboa’s huge margin of victory, he believed that any claim of election fraud “must be confirmed”. “It can’t and shouldn’t be just an assertion thrown into the air.”
Mr. Noboa has positioned himself as the president of law and orders, but so far has achieved minimal results in addressing the ongoing drug violence and unemployment in the country.
Over the past five years, Ecuador has experienced violent explosions related to drug trafficking. The judicial system has plagued the overcrowded, corruption and underfunded funds have become a fertile land for prison gangs allied with powerful international drug cartels.
This shift has made the once coordinated 18 million countries a key player in the global drug dealing, undermining the lives of Ecuadorians and changing the country’s position in turbulent regions.
Meanwhile, only 36% of Ecuadorians are fully utilized, making the economy the biggest concern, according to government data.
Official data show Mr Noboa received 56% of the vote compared to Ms. Gonzalez’s 44% and more than 97% of the votes on Sunday night.
In a game expected to be tense, Mr. Noboa took a decisive lead at night. By 8 p.m., hundreds of his supporters gathered outside the National Election Commission in Quito, waving flags, waving flags and holding symbolic cardboard cuts.
At the headquarters near Ms. Gonzalez’s party, hundreds of supporters shouted “narration.”
Carolineávila, an Ecuadorian political analyst, said Mr. Noboa projected his image as a legal candidate, but this posture was not reflected in reality.
“Every day, you won’t find people watching on the street,” she said. “But you’ll have a Tiktok video that reminds you of the last raid.”
Mr. Noboa also tried to use himself as the best representative of Ecuador on the world stage, emphasizing his ability to build relationships with global leaders, including President Trump.
Mr. Noboa, the heir to Harvard Education, is a multi-billion-dollar banana empire whose predecessor calls for early elections in an impeachment lawsuit to take office in 2023.
He first entered politics four years ago when he ran for the state legislature. In the 2023 presidential race, he managed to rise from the bottom of the polls to second place in the first round of voting after a strong debate performance. He then defeated Ms. Gonzalez in runoff.
Ms. Gonzalez served in various positions in the left-wing Correa government, largely regarded as the representative of the former president, a former Ecuadorian separatist led from 2007 to 2017. Many respected economies flourished, low crime rates and health and investment in Ecuador that have been experienced under their government. But others condemn him for his corruption conviction in 2020 and his authoritarian tendencies.
Yazbek, a 39-year-old teenager at the owner of the car dealer, said he had voted for Mr Noboa because he believed foreign investment and trade would be higher under his leadership, which he believed was key to promoting Ecuador’s economy.
“We really need good allies, big guys like the United States,” he said.
Luis Cando and his wife, Mónica Sánchez, both 39, said they intend to vote for Mr. Nobea, partly due to economic factors, which was worsened by high crime levels.
“To open a small business, you can’t open it too late or too early because the thief is monitoring it,” Ms. Saenchez said.
She was promised by Mr. Noboa to fight crime and create jobs.
“I hope he can do that, too,” she said. “It’s not just a proposal.”
José María León Cabrera Quito’s report.
