After an election campaign marked by violence that cost the life of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, Ecuadorians voted this Sunday for a new president and government, hoping to stop organized crime and ease the country’s economic woes.
In the presidential election, Luisa González, a protégé of former President Rafael Correa, led the polls with 30% of the vote shortly before Villavicencio’s assassination, 9. Confident, he said this Sunday there would be no runoff. But to defeat the remaining four main contenders, a candidate now needs 50% of the vote, or 40% if he has a 10% advantage over his nearest rival. If there is a second round, it will take place on October 15.
Elections were called in May by President Guillermo Lasso after the dissolution of parliament, so 137 deputies also went to the polls.
Because of the threat of violence, 100,000 policemen and soldiers guarded the polling stations.