ECUADOR: Violence-hit country faces election run-off

Incumbent President Daniel Noboa on Monday clutched onto a razor-thin lead in violence-hit Ecuador’s election, after a stronger-than-expected leftist challenger looked set to force a second-round run-off. With more than 90 per cent of the ballots counted, Noboa had 44.3 per cent and rival Luisa Gonzalez 43.8 per cent, official results showed. Gonzalez, a 47-year-old […]

Incumbent President Daniel Noboa on Monday clutched onto a razor-thin lead in violence-hit Ecuador’s election, after a stronger-than-expected leftist challenger looked set to force a second-round run-off.

With more than 90 per cent of the ballots counted, Noboa had 44.3 per cent and rival Luisa Gonzalez 43.8 per cent, official results showed.

Gonzalez, a 47-year-old lawyer and single mother of two, told elated supporters in Quito that they had achieved a “great victory” by forcing what she called a “statistical tie”.

More than 10 million votes have been counted so far, but it could be some hours before the full tally is known.

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Still, Noboa’s supporters were in a jubilant mood, lighting fireworks in Quito and Guayaquil, the country’s two largest cities.

Gonzalez’s political mentor – polarising exiled ex-president Rafael Correa – was also bullish about the prospects of victory.