Leftist declared winner, but recount demanded
QUITO, Ecuador — Ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno was declared the winner of Ecuador’s presidential runoff Sunday, delivering a major setback to a recent rightward surge in Latin American politics and providing continuity to President Rafael Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution.
But his rival, conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, did not concede defeat and demanded a recount after three exit polls showed him winning, setting the stage for protests and charges of election fraud in this historically turbulent Andean nation.
“We’re not fools, nor are the Ecuadorean people,” Lasso said on Twitter, hours after claiming victory based on the exit polls results. “We will act democratically and with respect for authorities but firmly to defend the will of the people.”
With almost 96 percent of voting acts counted, the National Electoral Council said Moreno had 51 percent of the vote to banker Guillermo Lasso’s 49 percent. A difference of 214,000 votes separated the two candidates with about twice the number of votes still left to count.
Thousands of outraged Lasso supporters shouting “fraud” broke through metal barricades and almost reached the entrance of the electoral council’s headquarters in Quito before being pushed back by police. A similar scuffle took place outside the electoral offices in Guayaquil, where Lasso voted.
Moreno supporters celebrated and accused their opponents of trying to disavow results. The head of the electoral council appealed for calm.
“Ecuador deserves that its political actors show ethical responsibility in recognizing the democratic will expressed by the people at the voting booths,” said National Electoral President Juan Pablo Pozo.
Earlier, a jubilant Lasso claimed victory and told supporters in Guayaquil that he would free political prisoners and heal divisions created by 10 years of iron-fisted rule by Correa. Before the election, he said he would evict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorean embassy in London within 30 days of taking office while Moreno has said he will allow him to stay.