2023-08-20 21:59:40
The elections in Ecuador took place this Sunday in a context marked by the escalation of drug violence that included the crime of the candidate for President Fernando Villavicencio. Eight candidates seek to complete the term of Guillermo Lasso in the extraordinary elections.
Early elections in Ecuador are a consequence of the decree issued by Lasso, who on May 17 ordered the dissolution of congress and called for new elections. Whoever wins this Sunday, or in the second round, will remain in power for the next 18 months.
Also read: Between drug trafficking fear and political crisis, Ecuador elects president: the profile of the main candidates
The thirteen million Ecuadorians qualified to vote did so in one of the most violent contexts in its history, where 3,513 murders were recorded in the first six months. The highest point of the wave of violence was the shooting of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, later adjudicated by a drug gang.
Luisa González, candidate of the Citizen Revolution Party and supported by former President Rafael Correa, is one of the main candidates to win the elections. The main dispute would be against Christian Zurita, Villavicencio’s successor in the candidacy. To win in the first round, at least 40% of the votes plus a 10-point difference over the second most voted are required. A possible ballot is scheduled for October 15.
Elections in Ecuador: results, minute by minute and latest news
Voting closed in Ecuador and a slow recount of votes is expected
August 20, 2023, 6:58 pm
The polling stations closed in Ecuador at 5:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. in Argentina), amid exceptional security measures. More than 13 million Ecuadorians were eligible to vote in elections marked by violence after the assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
The elections took place calmly, although the National Electoral Council admitted that there were problems with voting abroad through a telematic system. The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Diana Atamaint, denounced cyber attacks against the telematic system for voting abroad, although she said that the results were not affected.
As he stated, these attacks were carried out from 7 countries. Ataimant announced that the first results will be announced at 7:30 p.m. in Ecuador (9:30 p.m. in Argentina). The new president will complete the term of Guillermo Lasso, who last May dissolved Congress and called early elections.
The favorite candidate is Luisa González, from the Citizen Revolution Party, whose leader is former President Rafael Correa, sentenced to 8 years in prison in 2020 for corruption and currently in exile in Belgium. Other candidates are Daniel Noboa, from Acción Democrática Nacional; Christian Zurita, who replaced Fernando Villavicencio, from the right-wing Construye movement; Jan Topic, nicknamed the Ecuadorian Nayib Buleke; the left-wing indigenist Yaku Pérez, from the Claro que se Puede movement; and former right-wing vice president Otto Sonnenholzner, of Avanza.
As anticipated by the authorities, the count will be slow. To win in the first round, the winning candidate must obtain 40% of the votes and a difference of ten points with the second.
Private guards with long weapons guard the ballot boxes
August 20, 2023, 3:19 pm
In a climate of enormous tension and under strict security measures, private guards guard the ballot boxes this Sunday at the Laica Vicente Rocafuerte University in the city of Guayaquil, a stronghold of drug trafficking in Ecuador. According to the newspaper Expreso, the police and the military searched the voters who entered with bags or backpacks, while in the corridors there were several private security guards with long weapons.
Ecuadorian migrants denounce failures in the system to vote from abroad
August 20, 2023, 1:30 pm
Ecuadorian migrants reported problems accessing the digital platform of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to exercise the telematic vote in the presidential elections this Sunday.
The president of the CNE promised thats “inconvenient” experienced by expatriate voters were going to be resolved. “As CNE we guarantee that these inconveniences are resolved in a particular way”, explained the official, and assured that all Ecuadorians could exercise their right to vote.
Presidential candidate Luisa González echoed the complaints when casting her vote and called on the CNE to correct the errors and guarantee the vote of Ecuadorians abroad.
Before the elections, migrants had demanded that electoral precincts be enabled in the countries where more Ecuadorians live, since in the regional and municipal elections last February there had already been problems with the virtual system. However, the electoral authorities of Ecuador rejected the request.
The Revolución Ciudadana party, led by González and former President Rafael Correa, had assured that the system implemented by the CNE for telematic voting by Ecuadorians residing abroad presented “serious shortcomings”.
“I make a call for our migrants who are not being able to vote abroad: that the National Electoral Council correct the errors and allow migrants to vote,” González told reporters after voting in the town of Canuto, in western Ecuador. .
The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador Guillaume Long tHe also denounced that he could not vote through the digital platform.
“I can’t exercise my right to vote! I’ve been trying for hours. No gentlemen @cnegobec, the telematic vote is not ‘flowing’. Can you imagine how many people are going to get tired of waiting 2 or 3 hours? How many voters will give up? This is called voter suppression,” he wrote on his Twitter account.
The president of Ecuador asked to respect the results of the elections
August 20, 2023, 1:00 pm
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, pointed out this Sunday that the country is reaching early general elections at a “complex moment” and asked for the respect to the results of the elections in which his successor will be designated, to the members of Parliament and will respond to two plebiscites.
In a press conference after voting in the port city of Guayaquil, Lasso asked that the decision of Ecuadorians at the polls be respected in a “environment of peace and tranquility”, after the electoral campaign was marked by the assassination of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Previously, Lasso had written on his Twitter account that “Ecuador arrives at this electoral day in a complex context and, at the same time, hopeful, because the decision of its future will be made by the citizens”.
“This unprecedented process is the consequence of a democratic decision that I took on May 17, when I dissolved the National Assembly to put an end to an irrational obstruction of some political sectors,” he added.
And he added: “Just as the power to govern was given to me by the people, I I decided to give him back the power, so that with your vote you can make possible the new changes that Ecuador needs today”.
Voting is a fundamental tool for “stop the advance of authoritarian projects that put the stability of the country at risk, and to strengthen the development and prosperity of Ecuadorian families,” he wrote.
“Today, 13 and a half million citizens have this immense responsibility. I ask you to pay with the greatest reflection and civility, with an eye on the best for your families and the entire nation,” he concluded.
Presidential candidate Jan Topic voted: “Safety first”
August 20, 2023, 12:30 pm
The candidate for the Presidency of Ecuador Jan Topic voted this Sunday and was optimistic about defeating violence and correísmo with these extraordinary general elections.
“First of all is safety”, Topic reaffirmed after casting his vote in his native city of Guayaquil, where he was confident of going to the second round of these presidential elections.
Topic, which is presented by an alliance of parties led by the conservative Social Christian Party (PSC), reiterated the need to “Eradicate violence” that the country is going through, after the crime of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
The security specialist businessman, who has been nicknamed the “Ecuadorian Bukele” during the electoral campaign for his promises of “firm hand” to combat organized crime and combat prisons, he asked voters to look at “who has the experience, the plan and the will to neutralize the violence.”
“Many speak, but there is only one who knows how to do it”, said the ex-legionary in reference to himself. Topic commented that “security and employment have to go hand in hand, because there is not one thing without the other” when considering that there will be no investment in a country that does not have security, and without investment there will be no employment.
The candidate wished for “zero attacks” after these elections and “that everyone can vote in peace and security”, without the strong security device developed by the Police and the Armed Forces to protect the electoral precincts.
“We are going to defeat correísmo. This is the day we defeated correísmo,” he closed.
The presidential candidate Yaku Pérez voted: “The country is bankrupt”
August 20, 2023, 12:00 pm
The left-wing presidential candidate, Yaku Pérez, voted this Sunday in Cuenca in the extraordinary general elections and assured that today “honesty over corruption and ecology over extractivism” will win.
The environmental leader remarked that this Sunday wins “life, hope, the Yasuní and the Chocó”. These last two concepts are related to the plebiscite to leave oil from an important deposit in the Amazon on land, and to prohibit mining in the Chocó Andino area, classified as a biosphere reserve by Unesco.
Pérez indicated that the “previous governments already had the opportunity”, but They led Ecuador to a “national tragedy, and this time, “the country is bankrupt”. “We are going to have to lift, rebuild and rehabilitate. It is going to be hard to get out of this structural violence,” he added.
He assured that his is a candidacy that is not stained with corruption, and he was convinced to go to the second round and win: “We are going to have the reins of Ecuador to change history forever and overcome the violence that the country is experiencing,” he said.
Escorted by his mother and his two daughters, Pérez noted that they and the people are his bodyguards: “I don’t have a bulletproof vest, what I have is an anti-corruption, anti-crime vest.”
Pérez recalled that in the 2021 elections he was one step away from entering the second round in a process in which he denounced that an alleged “fraud” was done to him.
For this reason, he advanced that he has spoken with the delegates of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU), among other international organizations, so that they “keep your eyes open.” But, in addition, he asked Ecuadorians, “regardless of their political inclination,” to vote “with intelligence, with their hearts.”
Villavicencio’s successor went to vote with a helmet, bulletproof vest and escorted by the military
August 20, 2023, 11:30 am
Christian Zurita, the successor in the presidential candidacy of the assassinated Fernando Villavicencio, went to vote in Quito escorted by a large number of soldiers, wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet.
Luisa González: “These elections are a decisive moment for the country”
August 20, 2023, 11:00 am
Luisa González, the candidate for the Presidency of Ecuador for the Citizen Revolution movement led by former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), affirmed that the extraordinary general elections this Sunday are “a decisive moment for the country.”
“We are going to make the decision to continue with this oblivion to those who have left the Ecuadorian people without security, without education, without health and without employment, or begin a future and a hope for homeland, works, dignity and security”, González said after casting his ballot in Canuto, the rural town in the coastal province of Manabí.
The lawyer and ex-assembly member pointed out that during Correa’s presidential term the country was “known throughout the world as the jaguar of Latin Americaa country that grew with dignity”, and affirmed that at that time there was not the level of violence and criminality of now. “With faith and hope come better days for the country,” he added.
To the candidatea denounced problems in the computer platform of the National Electoral Council (CNE) so that Ecuadorians registered abroad can vote online, the only possible modality for the more than 400,000 Ecuadorians registered abroad.
The candidate for president, Otto Sonnenholzner, voted: “The situation is serious”
August 20, 2023, 10:30 am
The presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner voted this Sunday and was confident of going to the second round of the elections in Ecuador.
“The situation is dire and you need people who know exactly what to dowithout improvising, for the right reasons, not for personal interests or vanity,” said Sonnenhozlner, who served as vice president during part of Lenín Moreno’s presidential term.
The candidate regretted the incident suffered on Saturday, when witnessed a shootout between police and suspected criminals where he had breakfast with his family. The situation generated alarm among those present, especially after the assassination on August 9 of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Sonnenholzner said that “Unfortunately, more and more Ecuadorians are experiencing situations like this,” and remarked that he feels empowered to stop the escalation of violence that the country is going through.
For this, he anticipated that he will take care of the control of the prisons, where more than 400 prisoners have been murdered in different massacres that have occurred since 2020 due to clashes between rival gangs, and will support the Police to forcefully confront crime and organized crime.
Presidential candidate Luisa González voted
August 20, 2023, 10:00 am
Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez walks at a polling station during a presidential election, in Canuto, Ecuador August 20, 2023. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos
Luisa González, candidate of the Citizen Revolution Party and supported by former President Rafael Correa, voted this Sunday morning surrounded by soldiers with machine guns and bulletproof vests.
The correista’s main dispute would be against Christian Zurita, Villavicencio’s successor in the candidacy. To win in the first round, at least 40% of the votes plus a 10-point difference over the second most voted are required. A possible ballot is scheduled for October 15.
From the Electoral Council of Ecuador they ask to go vote “to condemn the violence”
August 20, 2023, 09:30 am
The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador, Diana Atamaint, asked citizens to vote in the extraordinary general elections to “condemn violence” and ratify “the commitment to democracy”.
Atamaint pointed out that “the moment the homeland is experiencing demands that citizens, political institutions and the State and the public force close ranks to fearlessly fight the violent few who want to plunge the country into despair”.
“Those who believe in the rule of lawthe answer must be democracy, democracy and more democracy. I invite you to vote with optimism and with the confidence that the Armed Forces, the National Police and the CNE have put in place to guarantee peaceful and safe elections through a security plan,” said Atamaint.
The president of the CNE ratified the decision taken by the Government and by the electoral authorities of not postponing the elections after the assassination of Villavicencio: “Despite the events that have occurred in these weeks that cause pain and mourn the country’s democracy, it is necessary to specify that the non-execution of the elections could represent their nullity. These violent acts will not stop us, because peace and democracy We all defend it.”
Elections began in Ecuador
August 20, 2023, 09:00 am
Starting at 7 in the morning in Ecuador (9AM local), the thirteen million qualified Ecuadorians began to vote in the midst of a hostile climate due to the escalation of violence in the country.
Schools will be available to vote from 7 in the morning to 17 hours.
Ecuador: who is Christian Zurita, the heir to the presidential candidacy of his friend Fernando Villavicencio
August 20, 2023, 08:00 am
Christian Zurita and his running mate, Andrea González Nader (Photo: Archyde.com)
He assumed the post of the journalist who was shot to death a few days before the elections. The bulletproof vest that accompanies him in the last stretch of the campaign.
Those who knew him closely say that in his youth he was a Trotskyist and sang revolutionary songs by Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez out loud. Three decades later, the Ecuadorian journalist Christian Zurita assumed the presidential candidacy of the right-wing Construye movement, replacing his colleague and friend Fernando Villavicencio, assassinated on Wednesday with three bullets to the head in Quito.
Ecuador elects president at the most violent moment in its history: who are the main candidates
August 20, 2023, 07:00 am
Ecuador elects president in the worst crisis of violence in its history. (Photo: REUTERS/Henry Romero)
Violence took over the campaign after the assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio. There will also be two popular consultations.
Ecuador elects a new president this Sunday in elections marked by fire by drug violence. The assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio, on August 9 after a campaign event in Quito, was just the tip of the iceberg of the penetration of drug trafficking into the political and daily life of the country.
Violence in Ecuador: a candidate for president was taking photos and was interrupted by a shooting
August 20, 2023, 06:00 am
Otto Sonnenholzner was in a bar in the north of Guayaquil when shots were heard in the middle of a chase. _(Photo: video capture).
This Sunday presidential elections are held in a context of violence due to the shooting of Fernando Villavicencio.
Ecuador will elect a president this Sunday in a climate marked by violence after the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, one of the main candidates for the position. This Saturday, another candidate said he had witnessed a shooting. This is Otto Sonnenholzner, former vice president of Lenín Moreno.
Violent campaign in Ecuador: they shot at the caravan of one of the candidates for president
August 20, 2023, 5:00 am
The moment of the shooting (Video: X)
The incident occurred three days before the elections. The candidate Daniel Noboa was unharmed.
Presidential candidate Daniel Noboa was unharmed this Thursday after a shooting occurred during a tour in Durán, Guayas province, just three days before the presidential elections in Ecuador this Sunday.
Another crime in Ecuador: a leader of the Rafael Correa movement was murdered
August 20, 2023, 4:00 am
Pedro Briones (center) was assassinated in Ecuador (Photo: Semana)
It happened six days before the presidential elections on Sunday and after the assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
In a new example of the violence that Ecuador is experiencing, a leader of the opposition movement of the “Citizen Revolution”, of former President Rafael Correa, was assassinated this Monday in Esmeraldas, in the north of the country.
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