Conservative Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa won on Sunday’s second round of the election of the new head of state, The election commission announced. However, his left -wing challenge Luisa González refused to recognize the results and claimed that there was fraud. Informed DPA and AFP, writes TASR.
Noboa, according to almost complete census results, won 55.9 percent of the votes, 44.1 percent of voters voted for Gonzálezová. Participation in Ecuador elections was mandatory for 13.7 million citizens.
“We do not recognize the result,” González said in front of her followers. “I refuse to believe that people prefer to lies over the truth,” The left -wing lawyer said. Surveys before the second round indicated that their duel would be close. Noboa said he had achieved a “historical” victory. “There is no doubt who is the winner,” he told the celebrating supporters.
At the age of 37, Noboa, the son of a rich entrepreneur with bananas, is one of the youngest presidents in the world. He became the head of state in October 2023, when he also won the early elections over González. These elections were held after the then President Guillermo Lasso dissolved Parliament after two years in the office.
During Nobo’s short term, the country has seen a significant increase in violence related to cocaine smuggling from neighboring Colombia and Peru to Europe, Australia and the USA. The number of murders increased from 5.8 to 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 to the current 50.7.
Noboa responded to this by declaring a state of emergency and deployed soldiers in the fight against drug cartels. His opponents accused him of a conscious acceptance of human rights violations. Gonzálezová supports the exile but still influential left -wing former President Rafael Correa. He has supporters primarily in the poorer strata of society and in its native region.
