Luisa Gonzalez, a left-wing person, is winning in Ecuador’s presidential election. The election has been affected by the murder of one of the candidates.
With almost 80% of the votes counted, electoral officials report that she has 33% of the votes, while her main competitor Daniel Noboa, who is a businessman, has 24% of the votes.
The two best candidates will now have another competition on 15 October.
The poll and referendum were held together, and people voted to stop drilling for oil in the Amazon.
The decision, which was agreed by almost 60% of the people who voted, means that the government-owned oil company will have to end its activities in a specific area of Yasuní National Park. This park is known for its rich variety of plant and animal life and is one of the most important places for biodiversity in the world.
The place has many different kinds of birds, amphibians, and reptiles. It is also where indigenous people like the Tagaeri and Taromenani live, and they choose to live away from others.
The result is a big setback for the former President Guillermo Lasso, who believed that money from oil drilling was very important for Ecuador’s economy.
The Waorani indigenous people are participating in a group of travelers who are advocating for a “yes” vote in a referendum that aims to prevent oil drilling.
The Waorani tribe is against drilling for oil in the Yasuni reserve.
About 100,000 police officers and soldiers were sent to protect the first round of voting on Sunday.
The snap election happened because Mr. Lasso, who used to work in banking and is politically conservative, dissolved parliament to prevent his own removal from office.
The voting on Sunday was calm, which made the people of Ecuador relieved because they were scared of the political violence happening in the country.
But, before the vote, there were a few times when someone used a gun and hurt people.
The new president will start working on 26 October and will be in power for only 18 months, which is the remaining time of Mr. Lasso’s term
Ms Gonzalez, who is 45 years old and a supporter of leftist ex-President Rafael Correa, was seen as the most likely winner among the eight politicians running for president.
But when candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed on 9 August in the capital city, Quito, it became hard to know who would win the election.
Ms Gonzalez has promised to bring back helpful government programs that support people in Ecuador. This is very appealing to Ecuadoreans who have been struggling with a difficult economic situation.
Many voters view Daniel Noboa as a candidate who supports and promotes business interests.
But, people who vote have different political beliefs.
Mr Correa is still a powerful figure in the country. He reduced poverty when he was in charge, but he was involved in corruption scandals and had to leave the country. He is currently living in exile in Belgium.
People who want to stop his influence in Ecuador will support candidate Daniel Noboa, who is 35 years old and supports businesses.
The only thing that brings Ecuadoreans together is their desire for peace and safety. Everyone wants a calm and peaceful campaign before the run-off.
Mr Villavicencio was a journalist who spoke out about corruption and exposed connections between organized crime and government officials. He was 59 years old.
Six men were arrested for being involved in his killing, and all of them are from Colombia.
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Fernando Villavicencio got shot when he was leaving a gathering in Quito.
Tag: González
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Leftist leads Ecuadorian presidential election despite an increase in violence
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Ecuador to go for run-off election as neither candidate won more than 50% of the ballot
In the first round of Ecuador’s presidential and legislative elections, which have been marred by political assassinations as the Andean nation battles a wave of violence that has pushed homicide rates to record highs, Luisa González of the Movimiento Revolución Ciudadana party took a lead on Sunday.
According to the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE), Gonzalez will compete against the unexpected second-place finisher Daniel Noboa in a run-off election in October because neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote.
The CNE’s Diana Atamaint declared on Sunday that the preliminary results “already show a trend that guarantees that Ecuadorians will go to a run-off on October 15.”
González is seen as a protégé of former socialist president Rafael Correa, who continues to hold significant power in the nation and supported her campaign while living in exile in Belgium. The former president, who has consistently rejected the charge of severe bribery, was given an eight-year prison sentence in absentia in 2020.
González aims to address the security situation by addressing the underlying causes of violence, such as poverty and inequality, and has pledged to increase public investment and social programmes. González, a former minister of tourism and labour in the Correa administration, has also advocated for the court to be strengthened to aid in prosecutions, according to commentators.
Lvaro Noboa, a banana businessman who has himself stood for president at least five times, is the father of Daniel Noboa. Prior to the legislature being dissolved and early elections announced by outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, the 35-year-old was a politician.
The centrist, who is a member of the Accion Democratica Nacional party, has promised to increase the number of jobs available to young people, attract more foreign investment, and propose many anti-corruption measures, including harsher penalties for tax evasion.
This year’s presidential election has focused heavily on crime, which was highlighted by the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken critic of corruption in the media.
His death has drawn attention to a recent uptick in violence, spurred by a cocaine boom, in which local gangs and multinational criminal organisations have overtaken prisons, engaged in high-level extortion, and murdered anyone who stands in their way.
A left-leaning local party official named Pedro Briones was shot and killed in the province of Esmeraldas a few days after Villavicencio’s death.
On Thursday, while Noboa was travelling through the province of Guayas, gunfire broke up his caravan. However, according to the authorities, Noboa was not the intended target of the crime.
On election day, candidates wore bulletproof vests as security personnel stood guard outside voting places amid threats of violence.
Christian Zurita, Villavicencio’s successor, voted in the nation’s capital Quito while being heavily guarded by the police and military of Ecuador.
However, on Sunday, authorities detected cyberattacks on the nation’s telematic voting network from a number of nations, including Bangladesh, China, Russia, and the Ukraine. The nation’s National Electoral Council stated that the incident impeded voting access but underlined that the votes cast were valid.
Many Ecuadorians have been forced to flee the nation due to the escalating violence and the lack of promising economic possibilities.
However, the winner of the run-off election in October won’t have much time to come up with a solution. They will only be in government until 2025, which is the conclusion of Lasso’s six-year tenure. According to experts, this is not enough time for even the most seasoned politician to make significant changes to the country.