It’s a choice between left and right

Rafael Correa has led a socialist movement in Ecuador since becoming president in 2007 and winning three consecutive elections.

Poverty has been slashed as a result, but reliance on the extraction of natural resources remains a key issue.

Now the country must decide between Correa’s successor, Lenin Moreno from the PAIS Alliance, and a challenger from the centre-right CREO-SUMA Alliance, Guillermo Lasso.

Moreno plans to advance Correa’s citizens' revolution, campaigning on the basis of “a government for all”.

EFE

His proposals include the immediate creation of 40 technical universities and 325,000 new houses for the country’s poorest families.

His final campaign speech stressed the importance of taxes on the rich in the name of social solidarity.

Lasso, a former banker, has a neoliberal agenda and promises to generate a million new jobs within four years.

He has proposed the privatisation of public services, cuts to government spending and the removal of 14 taxes in order to attract foreign investment.

Latin America's 'pink tide' is turning

Latin America has been riding a wave of leftist populism known as the ‘pink tide’, but recent events indicate a change of direction.

In 2015 Argentina voted in the centre-right Mauricio Macri after 12 years of government by the Kirchners.

Then in 2016, Michael Temer took power in Brazil, ushering in a new right-leaning agenda.

EFE

Meanwhile the deterioration of Venezuela has been generating a distrust of leftist economies.

The outcome of this election will be a defining moment in the history of Latin America’s twenty-first century socialism.

It's a tight race

Moreno came out ahead of Lasso in the first round but 33% of the population didn’t vote for either of them.

Now those people will have to choose between the two. If more than two-thirds of them vote for Lasso, he will have the majority he needs to win.

Opinion polls place Moreno in the lead but only by a small margin. In the most recent poll by CEDATOS, 45.7% chose Moreno and 41.5% chose Lasso.

The international vote matters

At least 12% of Ecuador’s population lives abroad. In Spain, voting is about to begin at polling places across the country to accommodate the 170,000 Ecuadorians eligible to vote there.

Australia’s Ecuadorian community is much smaller - around 2,000 people at last count.

Of those, 336 are eligible to vote in Sydney and 59 in Canberra.

Today they gathered at Redfern Town Hall and the Ecuadorian embassy in Canberra to have their say in the country’s future.

AP

The world might get its first paraplegic president

Lenin Moreno was shot in the back during a robbery in the country’s capital 19 years ago.

The attack left him suffering from paraplegia and bedridden for four years in what he describes as a slow and painful recovery.

After taking office as vice president in 2007 he implemented policies and programs that radically transformed the lives of people living with a disability.

His work on disability rights earned him global recognition, including a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

Julian Assange's future is on the line

In an interview with The Guardian, Lasso said that if elected he would ask Julian Assange to leave Ecuador’s London embassy within 30 days.

He later confirmed this position in an exchange with the Miami Herald but said he would try to arrange refuge in another country’s embassy so that Assange’s rights are protected.

How such a transfer would happen is unclear though, and Assange could be apprehended and extradited as soon as he leaves the building.</s>Venzuelan President Nicolas Maduro says the government's Denfense Council met Monday to discuss the threats of war from neighboring Colombia. | Read More</s>MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Lenin Moreno, a candidate from Ecuador’s ruling PAIS Alliance party, is keeping his leadership in the Ecuador’s presidential election with 51.16 percent of votes after 99 percent of ballots have been processed, the National Electoral Council’s data showed on Monday.

According to the council’s preliminary results, Guillermo Lasso, Moreno’s rival from the opposition Creo-Suma alliance, is gathering 48.84 percent of votes.

The second round of Ecuador's presidential elections was held on Sunday.

The preliminary results of the election provoked clashes between the country's opposition and police near the National Electoral Council’s building in Ecuador's capital of Quito. Apart from this, Lasso expressed opposition's readiness to challenge the results due to the "voting manipulations", noting the significant difference between the exit polls and the election's results.</s>MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) — Moreno’s opponent Guillermo Lasso, a candidate from Ecuador's opposition Creo-Suma alliance, is said to have got 48.96 percent of votes.

Following the announcement of results Lasso said that opposition may demand vote recount.

Moreno, the Ecuador's former vice-president, was the leading candidate following the first round of the election that was held in February. At the time no candidate gained 50 percent of votes which is necessary to win at the first round of the election.</s>MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South America's growing right-wing political force experienced a defeat in Ecuador, where ruling PAIS Alliance party candidate Lenin Moreno, is set to win the presidential election.

With the country's current President Rafael Correa not running in the election for the first time in more than a decade, two candidates, Moreno, a former vice president, and Guillermo Lasso, a candidate from Ecuador's opposition Creo-Suma alliance, participated in Sunday's run-off.

The vote difference between PAIS Alliance's Moreno and his opponent is small — just over 2 percent. According to the National Electoral Council (NEC), after processing around 98 percent of the votes, Moreno leads with over 51 percent compared to Lasso, who has just under 49 percent.

The current head of state called the results irreversible, writing on Twitter "great news for the great homeland: the revolution regained its victory in Ecuador, the right is defeated, despite their millions and the media, more than two percent of the difference, Lenin is president!!!"

​For Correa, Moreno's victory would mean that the country preserves the same socio-economic course that it has built since 2007, when Correa first came to power and launched the left-wing Citizens' Revolution. Moreno served as Correa's vice president from 2007 to 2013.

During his campaign, Moreno promised to create 250,000 new jobs in his time in office, and to maintain the current social policy aimed at supporting the poor.

In the event of a final victory, he will enter office on May 24 and will serve for a period of four years.

Lasso has challenged the results in all 24 provinces, and demanded a vote recount, citing voting manipulations. The temporary fault of the website of the National Electoral Council has also raised concern.

Local media reported that clashes between supporters of the Ecuador’s opposition and police also erupted near the National Electoral Council’s building in Quito.

Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks whistleblowing website, who has been residing at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012, also welcomed Moreno's victory.

In February, Lasso, a prominent businessman, said in an interview with The Guardian newspaper that in case of his victory in the presidential election he would "cordially ask" Assange to leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London within 30 days.

​Assange was referring to the allegations by the Inspectorate of Banks of Panama against Lasso regarding his association with forty-nine offshore companies located in tax havens, as revealed by the Argentine newspaper Pagina 12 earlier this month.</s>Ecuador's ruling-party candidate Lenin Moreno claimed victory Monday night in the country's presidential election against conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso, who is yet to acknowledge defeat after several exit polls showed he was leading by a relatively safe margin.

After his victory, Moreno tweeted: "With my heart in my hand, I thank all those who in peace and harmony went to vote. I will be the President of all and you will help me."

According to the National Electoral Council, Moreno won 51 percent of the votes while his right-wing rival Lasso won 49 percent, with more than 94 percent of the votes counted. The head of the council, Juan Pablo Pozo, declared the results and reportedly said: "Ecuador deserves the ethical responsibility from its political actors to recognize the democratic decision made by the people at the ballot box."

However, Lasso called for a recount, claiming he won by six points according to three exit polls. "They've toyed with popular will," Lasso told an Ecuadorian television station Sunday, before the declaration of the winner, according to Reuters.

After Moreno won, Lasso posted on Twitter: "Let's not be provoked. We will act democratically and with respect for authorities but firmly to defend the people's will. We're not fools, nor are the Ecuadorian people."

The leftist government has been in power for the last three elections under President Rafael Correa whose policies helped improve access to healthcare and education, as well to reduce poverty. However, his government was also criticized for corruption, media censorship and also for not adhering to many of its environmental promises. On the other side, Lasso offered a pro-business program, which promised tax cuts and an increase in the number of jobs in the country of 15 million. But his alternative sounded contradictory to his own actions; Lasso is accused of tax avoidance through several offshore accounts, according to the Guardian.

President Rafael Correa, who supported Moreno in the election, celebrated the outcome and said "The moral fraud of the right-wing won't go unpunished," referring to Lasso's claims that he was winning based on three exit polls.

Numerous supporters of Lasso protested outside the electoral council office Sunday night, shouting "No to fraud, yes to democracy!," according to Reuters. Reacting on Twitter, Correa said: "Outbreaks of violence in Quito, Esmeraldas, Ibarra and Azogues. That they fail at the ballot box, they want to achieve it by force."

Moreno's victory also came as a relief for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since he was granted asylum under Correa's government in 2012. Lasso had promised to ask Assange to leave the embassy, if he was elected, calling the WikiLeaks founder a burden on the country's taxpayers, USA Today reported. Assange took shelter in the embassy while fighting against his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on allegations of sexual misconduct.</s>(CNN) — Ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno has claimed a win in Ecuador’s presidential election, despite no official declaration from the country’s National Electoral Council (CNE). With over 96% of the votes counted, Moreno holds a razor-thin lead with 51.1% of the votes cast, compared to conservative opponent Guillermo Lasso at 48.9%. Lasso has said that his party has detected voting irregularities and will demand a recount. He also urged supporters to peacefully demonstrate against the apparent result.</s>Lenin Moreno, the candidate of the ruling Alianza País Party in Ecuador appears to have secured a win in the second round of presidential elections, barely beating his rival, the conservative Guillermo Lasso who thus far has refused to concede.

With over 94 percent of the votes counted, Moreno is in the lead with 51.07 percent compared to 48.93 percent gained by his opponent Lasso, the country’s election commission reported.

READ MORE: ‘Fate of all Latin America being decided at Ecuador election’

"The revolution has triumphed again in Ecuador," outgoing President Rafael Correa said on Twitter. "The right has lost, despite its millions and its media."

“They've toyed with popular will,” Lasso said on Sunday night, demanding a recount as earlier exit polls were split and projected different winners, prompting both candidates to claim victory.

The 64-year old Moreno, who has been in a wheelchair since 1998, ran on a campaign which promised the South American country a boost in social benefits. The nominee for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize served as vice president of the country from 2007 to 2013, under President Rafael Correa.

It was Correa, serving his third presidential term, who had nominated Morena to run for the Alianza País socialist political movement in Ecuador.

His opponent Lasso, a 61-year-old former head of Banco de Guayaquil who has campaigned on creating one million jobs in four years, argues that Moreno’s generous social promises risk plunging Ecuador’s economy further into debt.

The conservative has also promised to evict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the nation’s London embassy.

While Moreno has declared victory in a close runoff, Lasso has called for a vote recount, claiming that he is the real winner of the election.

Moreno urged for unity as he addressed his cheering supporters in Quito: “From now on, let's work for the country! All of us!”</s>Conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso calls on supporters to take to the streets to guard against fraud.

Ecuador's conservative presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso has said he will not accept the result of the runoff election won by his socialist rival Lenin Moreno.

Lasso called on his supporters to take to the streets on Monday to guard against fraud.

"I cannot accept these results because they do not reflect the will of the people," the former banker told a press conference. "There is fraud, blatant fraud, in the counting process."

With more than 99 percent of polling places counted after Sunday's second-round runoff, Moreno had 51 percent of the vote while Lasso stood at just under 49 percent.

Even as leaders from right-wing governments in Latin America began called Moreno on Monday to offer their congratulations, Lasso vowed to keep up the fight against the installation of an "illegitimate" government.

"We're on the correct side of history. We won't cross our arms and stand by," he said on Twitter. "We will exhaust all political and legal channels in Ecuador and abroad to respect the will of the people who called for a change."

Key to Lasso's challenge of the results in all of Ecuador's 24 provinces was the results of three exit polls that showed him winning. One by pollster Cedatos, which accurately predicted the results of the first round, gave him a victory by six percentage points.

Part of the problem is the opposition's distrust of the National Electoral Council, which it says has become an appendage of the executive in the way the electoral board in Venezuela has all but lost independence under socialist President Nicolas Maduro, a key ally of Ecuador's cirrent president, Rafael Correa.

On election night, thousands of outraged Lasso supporters shouting "fraud" crashed through metal barricades to almost reach the entrance of the electoral council's headquarters in Quito.

Scuffles also broke out in Guayaquil, where Lasso is from, before riot police before pushed back protesters with tear gas.

But so far he has failed to present any evidence of vote tampering except for a single voting act of 248 ballots from a rural area whose tally he says was reversed in favour of Moreno when sent to the National Electoral Council's headquarters.

On Monday the streets were relatively calm although a few dozen Lasso die-hards gathered outside the electoral council's heavily-guarded headquarters.

Lasso presented his complaints on Monday to an electoral mission sent by Organization of American States, which has yet to comment.

But several regional leaders offered their congratulations and a local electoral watchdog that carried out a quick count of its own said Monday that Moreno had a 1.6 point edge in their sample, which is considered highly accurate.

Correa accused Lasso supporters of trying to deny the results and provoke violence.

"By force they want to achieve what they can't at the ballot box," he said on Twitter.

On Monday, he appeared alongside Moreno at changing of the guard ceremony at the presidential palace.

"I'm going to be the president of everyone but fundamentally those who are poorest," said Moreno.

For weeks Ecuadoreans polarised by 10 years of Correa's iron-fisted rule had been bracing for a contested vote.

With Ecuador's economy slated to shrink by 2.7 percent this year as oil prices remain low, analysts had been anticipating that Lasso would rally support from the 60 percent of voters who backed anti-Correa candidates in the first round and join the growing list of Latin American nations - Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Venezuela - shifting to the right in recent elections.

The majority of voters also said they were hungry for change amid ongoing corruption allegations related to bribes that Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht paid to officials in Correa's government and a $12m contracting scandal at state-run PetroEcuador.

Yet in the final weeks of the race, Moreno inched ahead in polls amid an aggressive campaign led by Correa to cast Lasso as a wealthy, out-of-touch politician who profited from the country's 1999 banking crisis.

Moreno, 64, also benefited from last-minute doubts that the pro-business Lasso if elected would gut social programmes that have endeared poor voters to Correa's "Citizens' Revolution".</s>With 96 percent of the vote counted in Ecuador's presidential election on Sunday, Lenín Moreno of leftist President Rafael Correa's ruling party is beating conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, 51 percent to 49 percent. Lasso, who led comfortably in well-regarded exit polls, charged election fraud and urged his supporters to protests peacefully. Lasso and Moreno have both declared victory, but with 214,000 votes left to count, according to the National Electoral Council, there are twice as many outstanding votes as Moreno's winning margin.

Clashes have been reported in Quito and several other cities, and Lasso supporters broke through metal barricades outside the election commission before being pushed back by police. "Fight!" Lasso, 61, told his supporters. "We won't let them cheat us!" National Electoral President Juan Pablo Pozo, a target of criticism on the right, urged calm. "Ecuador deserves that its political actors show ethical responsibility in recognizing the democratic will expressed by the people at the voting booths," he said. "Not a single vote has been given or taken away from anyone." Moreno fell just short of a 50 percent majority in the first round voting on Feb. 19.

Ecuador, like several other South American countries, has been led by leftist leaders for the past decade — Correa was term-limited out after 10 years — and the election was seen as a test of the Latin American left, after conservatives were recently elected in Argentina and Peru. Moreno, 64, was shot in a 1998 carjacking, and if his win is confirmed, he will be the first Latin American leader to use a wheelchair. Moreno's victory would also be a win for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; Lasso had pledge to kick him out of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, while Moreno said he will allow him to stay. Peter Weber
Voters in Ecuador return to the polls for the second round of a presidential election, which Lenín Moreno of the socialist PAIS Alliance is predicted to narrowly win over the center-right Creating Opportunities's Guillermo Lasso. With 94.18% of the votes counted, Moreno leads with 51.07%. According to the national election commission, it was a transparent and successful election.