Ecuador to hold presidential elections on Sunday

By James Blears

At age thirty-five. Daniel Noboa became the youngest President ever elected in Ecuador, after his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, dissolved the National Assembly and called a snap election. Noboa of the National Democratic Action Party, won the round two runoff against Luisa Gonzalez of the Citizen Revolution Movement. She is the protégée of former President Rafael Correa.

Noboa, who is heir to a banana conglomerate, has ruled for eighteen months. Whoever wins this time will have a four-year term to govern the country.

Voters are dissatisfied with rising inflation, electricity blackouts; they are seeking better job opportunities and are alarmed by rising narcotics related crime.

Noboa declared a State of Emergency in January 2024. Three months later, Ecuadorian troops and police stormed into the Mexican Embassy, to arrest former Vice President Jorge Glas, in violation of the Vienna Convention. Mexico immediately severed diplomatic relations.

An outright winner in this Presidential Election would need to gain fifty percent of the vote, or at least forty percent with a ten percent lead. The most likely outcome is a second-round runoff, just like last time.

Leading up to the previous presidential election in 2023, anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated. It is hoped this election will be peaceful and well ordered.