Second presidential runoff in less than two years in the South American country blighted by drugs-related violence.
Ecuadorians have begun voting in tight presidential election runoff pitting the incumbent incumbent President Daniel Noboa against leftist lawyer Luisa Gonzalez.
Diana Atamaint, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), officially opened the polls at 7am local time (12:00 GMT) at a ceremony in the capital, Quito, on Sunday, with more than 13 million people eligible to vote.
Voting, which is compulsory, is due to end at 5pm local time (2200 GMT). Analysts expect the result to have a very tight margin.
Voters are primarily worried about the violence that transformed the country, starting in 2021 – a spike in crime tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighbouring Colombia and Peru.
Both Noboa, a conservative millionaire, and Gonzalez have promised voters solutions to the extortions, kidnappings, killings and other crimes carried out by local criminal groups allied with Mexican cartels and the Albanian mafia, which have spiked over the last five years.
This is a developing story. More to come…
DJ Kamal Mustafa
I’m DJ Kamal Mustafa, the founder and Editor-in-Chief of EMEA Tribune, a digital news platform that focuses on critical stories from Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. With a deep passion for investigative journalism, I’ve built a reputation for delivering exclusive, thought-provoking reports that highlight the region’s most pressing issues.
I’ve been a journalist for over 10 years, and I’m currently associated with EMEA Tribune, ARY News, Daily Times, Samaa TV, Minute Mirror, and many other media outlets. Throughout my career, I’ve remained committed to uncovering the truth and providing valuable insights that inform and engage the public.
