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From: TT
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Photo: Dolores Ochoa / AP / TT
Andrés Arauz, 35, appears poised to win the first round of Ecuador’s presidential elections.
Polling stations have closed in Ecuador, where residents went to the polls on Sunday to elect a new parliament and a new president.
The socialist Andrés Arauz leads in the electoral colleges and has already declared himself the winner, but he is expected to face the right-wing Guillermo Lasso in a second electoral round.
The choice is made in the context of the covid-19 pandemic and the difficult economic problems that followed in its wake in Ecuador. On Election Day, the lines were long and virus restrictions are reported to have created chaos at polling stations.
According to early polls, none of the presidential candidates seem to get enough votes to take home victory immediately. In that case, there will be a second round of elections on April 11, where the battle will be between the young socialist economist Andrés Arauz and the conservative financier Guillermo Lasso.
“Round victory”
Arauz obtained between 34.9 and 36.2 percent of the votes at the polls, while the second Lasso barely exceeded 21 percent.
The message made Arauz quickly declare himself the winner.
“A resounding victory in all regions of our beautiful country,” the 35-year-old candidate wrote on Twitter.
However, he must obtain his own majority, or collect at least 40 percent of the votes and win by a margin of ten percentage points, to avoid a second round of elections.
Protected of President Correa
Left-wing candidate Andrés Arauz is often described as the protégé of former President Rafael Correa, and has vowed to return Ecuador to the socialist path after four years with Lenín Moreno as president. The unpopular Moreno was chosen as a candidate from the left, but he changed course quite immediately and followed a largely liberal policy during the term.
Right-wing candidate Guillermo Lasso, 65, is expected to join Moreno’s austerity course if elected. It has also promised to create one million jobs in one year.
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