Ecuador’s president wins re-election in nation rocked by drug violence

Quito, Ecuador — Ecuador’s president, who unexpectedly surged in the polls to secure a shortened term in 2023, was declared the victor of the presidential election with a decisive lead Sunday in a race that showed voters’ faith in his vows to tackle the security crisis with an iron fist.

Daniel Noboa, 37, defeated Luisa González, 47, the hand-picked successor of former President Rafael Correa.

Both candidates accused the other of electoral violations throughout the election season, and González said she would not recognize the results of the election in a speech from the headquarters of her party, Citizen Revolution.

“I want to be very clear and emphatic: The Citizen Revolution has always recognized a defeat in the last elections when polls, tracking and statistics have shown it,” González said. “Today, we do not recognize these results.”

Noboa celebrated his victory from the coastal town of Olón.

“This day has been historic,” he said. “There is no doubt who the winner is.”

The day before the election, Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven states, most of them González strongholds, raising fears that he was trying to suppress the vote among her supporters. The declaration restricts social activities and allows police and military to enter homes without permission.

The president said the measure was in response to violence in certain parts of Ecuador. González described it as an attempt to curb political participation.

“Declaring a state of emergency in the middle of an electoral process due to alleged serious internal unrest is very questionable,” said Mauricio Alarcón Salvador, director of Transparency International’s chapter in Ecuador, who added that the decision should be reviewed by the Supreme Court.

Noboa has positioned himself as a law-and-order president but has so far achieved minimal results in tackling the nation’s persistent drug violence and unemployment.

In the past five years, Ecuador has experienced an explosion in violence linked to drug trafficking. A justice system plagued by overcrowding in jails, corruption and underfunding has become fertile ground for prison gangs allied with powerful international drug cartels.

At the same time, just 36 per cent of Ecuadorians are adequately employed, according to government data, making the economy a top concern.

Noboa received 56 per cent of the vote, compared with González’s 44%, with more than 97 per cent of votes counted Sunday evening, according to official figures.