Daniel Noboa welcomes a “historic victory”, when Luisa Gonzalez disputes the outcomes | EUROtoday

After a primary quick time period on the head of the Ecuador, the outgoing president, Daniel Noboa, was fast to assert his re -election, Sunday April 13 within the night, whereas the National Electoral Council (CNE) introduced a development “Irreversible” About the outcomes of the second spherical of the poll. After counting 94 % of voting bulletins, the supervisor obtained 56 % of the vote, in opposition to 44 % for his left rival, Luisa Gonzalez, who disputes this election.

“This victory is historic, a victory with more than ten points ahead, a victory of more than a million votes which leaves no doubt about the one who is the winner”mentioned Mr. Noboa, 37, in entrance of the press, at his house positioned within the seaside resort of Olon, on the Pacific coast. He discovered “Regrettable that, with a difference of 11.12 points, we try in one way or another to question the will of the Equatorians”.

“I refuse to believe that there is a people who prefer lie to the truth (…), We will request a new count and the opening of the ballot boxes ”said the Dauphine of the former socialist leader, Rafael Correa (2007-2017), in Equateur in Ecuador.

Denouncing a “Grotesque electoral fraud”, Luisa Gonzalez, 47 -year -old lawyer, aspired to become the first woman to lead the country. She had already lost, in October 2023, against Mr. Noboa, during the election summoned by his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso.

According to the CNE, 84 % of the 13.7 million voters called in the ballot box in this compulsory election went on Sunday to the polling stations kept by thousands of soldiers and police, after an electoral campaign dominated by the question of the fight against the gangs of drug traffickers and violence in the country.

A person is killed every hour in the country

In recent years, this Andean country of 18 million inhabitants has experienced a brutal transformation. Its ports on the Pacific, its “dollarized” economy and its position between Colombia and Peru – the two largest world producers in cocaine – made Ecuador a hub for drug trafficking.

The war between cartels led to the assassination of a candidate for the presidency in 2023, the takeover of prisons by criminal groups and an armed attack, at the beginning of 2024, against a television channel. All this in a indebted and shocking economy.

Formerly considered an oasis of tranquility in a troubled region, the Ecuador knew, in 2025, the bloodiest start to the year in his recent history: every hour, a person is killed.

At the end of the first round, in February, where less than 17,000 votes separated the two candidates, Daniel Noboa, who finished in the lead, had denounced from “Many irregularities”suspicions rejected by international observers present on site. Luisa Gonzalez, for her part, accused the government “Desperate actions” aimed at manipulating the minutes of the election.

The president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint, had nevertheless warned Sunday morning: “We must firmly reject the discourse on fraud; The accusations without proof not only harm this institution, but also mine confidence in democracy itself. »» In vain.

An image of a young manager at the hard line in terms of security

Heir to a banana magnate, Daniel Noboa embodies the Ecuadorian political elite from the business world. He exploits his image as a young manager on social networks, holding a hard line in terms of security, marked by the sending of soldiers to the streets and in prisons, a policy denounced by human rights organizations.

While he had only a meager experience in politics, he had created the surprise by becoming, at 35, the youngest president of Ecuador, to complete the term, in May, the mandate of Guillermo Lasso. The ex-president had dissolved the parliament and launched early elections to avoid being dismissed by a parliamentary procedure for corruption. But “Nothing is resolved in a 12 months”repeats Mr. Noboa, re -elected for four years, who promises to redouble their efforts to stem the violence linked to drug trafficking.

His relations with the left governments are tense. He broke the diplomatic links with Mexico after ordering a police foray into his embassy in Quito to capture former vice-president Jorge Glas, sentenced for corruption. Although he says he is a center left, Daniel Noboa triumphed with the support of part of the right.

Luisa Gonzalez praised increased expenses in infrastructure and public services in a country in recession, struck by poverty and precarious work. The lawyer, who appears as a simple woman, a single mother who was made on her own, also promised security, but also greater respect for human rights.