Vote will decide Assange’s future
ECUADOR: The continuing sanctuary of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Ecuador’s London embassy could be decided by a small number of votes in a knifeedge election.
As counting continued yesterday, Lenin Moreno, a disabled former vice-president, was just short of the 40 per cent of votes he needs to win outright in the first round.
Assange’s fate could be determined in a runoff on April 2. Moreno, 63, has pledged to allow Assange to continue living in the London embassy, while his main conservative opponent, Guillermo Lasso, wants to have him removed.
Assange, 45, is trying to avoid returning to Sweden to face rape allegations, fearing that an extradition agreement with the United States could see him sent there for punishment over the publication by WikiLeaks of secret documents released by Chelsea Manning, the former intelligence analyst.
Moreno had 39.1 per cent of the votes cast, against 28.3 per cent for Lasso, with 88.5 per cent counted.
If it goes to a runoff, other opposition figures, including Cynthia Viteri, are likely to support Lasso.
Ecuadoreans are angry over an economic slump and corruption scandals as South America is moving to the Right.
Rafael Correa, 53, the outgoing president, has been in office for a decade. He granted Assange asylum in the embassy in June 2012. He plans to move to Belgium, the homeland of his wife.
Lasso, 61, a former banker, criticised the speed of the vote count and appeared already to be celebrating, having reached the second round in his home town of Guayaquil.
Moreno, who lost the use of his legs after being shot during a robbery, said his Country Alliance party would await the final results and respect the constitution.
He has a more conciliatory style than Correa, and has promised benefits for the disabled, single mothers and the elderly.
Lasso, and his Creo Movement, have campaigned to revive the economy by cutting taxes and encouraging foreign investment. They have pledged to create a million jobs in four years.
National Electoral Council (CNE) president Juan Pablo Pozo said authorities were pushing forward with the count as quickly as possible but it could take as long as three days to determine if a runoff was merited, and five to eight days to have definitive results.
Lasso’s running mate, Andres Paez, rallied a crowd in front of the CNE in the capital, Quito, warning the nation that the only way Moreno could avoid a runoff was through fraud.
Gorki Campuzano, a 67-year-old architect, said the last decade under Correa had led to widespread corruption that was sinking the country.
He said he feared the government might commit fraud to keep all its financial crimes under wraps.
‘‘We knew this was going to happen,’’ he said of the contentious vote. ‘‘The government is so stained by corruption that they are going to try to hold on to power at all costs.’’ - The Times, TNS