Ecuadorian candidate claims to have evidence of electoral fraud

The Ecuadorian presidential candidate Yaku Pérez, said he would present evidence of alleged irregularities in the first round of elections this month to force a recount and keep his campaign alive.

There are inconsistencies in about half of the 39,000 reports on voting results nationwide., and that number is likely to increase, said Pérez on Tuesday in Quito. These inconsistencies may have deprived the lawyer and anti-mining activist of 180,000 votes, he said.

“It’s structural fraud”Pérez said while speaking in a central park traditionally used by his indigenous party, Pachakutik, during protests.

Pérez’s supporters staged protests across the country to support his candidacy, traveling hundreds of kilometers across the Andes to the country’s capital. Sunday, Ecuador’s electoral office confirmed the second round between left-wing economist Andrés Arauz and curator Guillermo Lasso. According to this organ, Lasso had a advantage of only 38,000 votes over Pérez.

Pérez said he would call for a further investigation and would also appear at the electoral council “to give him one last chance” to open the ballot boxes for a partial recount. He could later appeal the results to the Ecuadorian electoral council, he added.

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