Second presidential run-off in less than two years in the South American country blighted by drugs-related violence.
Ecuadorians have begun voting in a tight presidential run-off pitting the incumbent, Daniel Noboa, against leftist lawyer Luisa Gonzalez.
Diana Atamaint, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), opened the polls at 7am (12:00 GMT) on Sunday at a ceremony in the capital, Quito. More than 13 million people are eligible to vote.
Voting, which is compulsory, is due to end at 5pm (22:00 GMT). Analysts expect a close outcome.
Noboa, a 37-year-old conservative, has been president for just over 16 months after beating Gonzalez, 47, in a 2023 snap election.
In February’s first round of voting, Noboa won 44.17 percent of the votes while Gonzalez garnered 44 percent. Pollsters say either could win.
Voters are primarily worried about the violence that has transformed the country since 2021 – a spike in crime tied to the trafficking of cocaine produced in neighbouring Colombia and Peru.
This once-peaceful Andean nation averaged a killing every hour at the start of the year, as cartels vied for control over cocaine routes that pass through Ecuador’s ports.
Both candidates have offered solutions.
‘Internal armed conflict’
Noboa declared Ecuador to be in a state of “internal armed conflict” in January 2024, allowing him to deploy thousands of soldiers to the streets to combat gangs and to charge people with ‘terrorism’ counts for alleged ties to organised crime.
He says his security plan, which also includes beefed up port security and more seizures of drugs and guns, is paying dividends, the homicide rate dropping to 38.76 per 100,000 people in 2024 from a high of 46.18 per 100,000 people in 2023.
On the eve of the vote, Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency in Quito and several provinces, underscoring the tense state of affairs.
Heir to a fortune built on the banana trade, the incumbent opened an event-organising company when he was 18 and then joined his father’s Noboa Corp, where he held management positions in the shipping, logistics and commercial areas.
If she prevails, Gonzalez could become Ecuador’s first elected female president — an historic milestone.
But the candidacy of the single mother, who has pitched herself as a humble everywoman, has been plagued by questions about her longstanding ties to former President Rafael Correa – a polarising figure forced into exile after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes.
Gonzalez held various government jobs during Correa’s presidency from 2007 to 2017. While his detractors accuse him of being a corrupt authoritarian, his supporters view him as a champion of the working class who stood up to the foreign oil companies.
In the run-up to the second round, the final two candidates have been attempting to court indigenous voters. Gonzalez has the backing of potential kingmaker Leonidas Iza, a powerful indigenous leader who secured 5 percent of the first-round vote.
Some analysts fear a tight result could spark claims of fraud and lead to a government with a weak mandate.
