Ecuadorian elections: Guillermo Lasso withdrew from counting deal and demanded that his advantage over Yaku Pérez be confirmed

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso, of the center-right movement I BELIEVE, this Sunday corrected its position on a counting process agreed last Friday with indigenous aspirant Yaku Pérez, and He ordered the electoral authority to announce the results, which so far gives him a slight advantage in getting to the poll.

In a letter sent this afternoon to the National Electoral Council (CNE), Lasso said such an agreement should be reached with the other candidates who took part in the February 7 elections, in which he and Pérez reached a technical tie for second place. , while the progressive Andrés Arauz took the first place and a large advantage.

However, the vote that Arauz got was not enough to secure the presidency in this single vote, so he must come in a second electoral round, on April 11, with whoever is ultimately second in the vote.

To resolve the political dispute and allegations of suspected fraud, Pérez and Lasso they agreed last Friday, during a meeting sponsored by the CNE and a group of international observers, conduct a recount of half the votes in sixteen provinces, of the 24 that make up the country, and all in Guayas.

The agreement also provided that the CNE was to prepare instructions for the accounting review of the votes and that after this process the final result would be proclaimed, which should be accepted by both candidates.

Lasso, however, He recalled this Sunday in the letter addressed to the CNE that this type of revision could only take place if all the candidates who participated in the first round, 16 in total, also accepted it.. He also recalled that the CNE, to examine the votes of one or thousands of polling stations, must first receive the identification of the polling stations where the recount is claimed, in addition to specifying the type of dispute in each case.

“If the CNE proceeds otherwise, it would not only be unfair, but also illegal and even criminal, as the commission of one or more crimes would be presumed.“And the whole process could be declared null and void,” he added. Lasso, in the letter, asked the CNE to proclaim the results of the vote which is now over and which gives him a slight advantage over Pérez.

The CNE, on its web portal, with the recording of one hundred percent of the minutes of the polling stations, ranked Arauz first with 32.71 percent of the vote, followed by Lasso with 19.74 percent and Pérez with 19, 38 percent.

Lasso insisted that as a citizen, accepted the recount of the entire vote in the province of Guayas, where he said Pérez had his greatest suspicions of fraud against him. However, he pointed out that while there is consensus among all registered presidential candidates, the majority voting less than 2%, would also accept half the vote count in just six provinces.

“It is clear that I respect the law, ethics, transparency and the will of the Ecuadorian people expressed at the ballot box”, but also that “I will contest and / or appeal, as the case may be in the law, of any act or resolution of the CNE that violates express law or seeks to impose procedures that are not included in a consensual agreement “with the other candidates, Lasso said.

The Tory candidate’s statement comes a day after Pérez presented the CNE with a series of ‘evidence’ about the alleged fraud he claims to have suffered in the last election, for which he called for a recount of around 45% of the total of the votes.

Perez’s indignation

In response, the environmental candidate voiced his anger at Lasso’s change of stance. “Why are you going back to the vote count?Pérez asked. “What did you and the CNE do that you don’t want Ecuador to know? For you, politics is a game, for me it is an opportunity to change the lives of millions of Ecuadorians. Opening the ballot boxes means defending democracyPérez reacted on his Twitter account.

Pérez, after learning that Lasso had rectified his position on the initial agreement, highlighted the proximity of the candidate to the current government of President Lenín Moreno, which is very unpopular in various social sectors.

”Mr. Lasso, you are not the same as 2017, because for 4 years you have co-governed with the worst government, that of (Lenín) Moreno. This is why he has no chance of succeeding if he reaches the second round of the elections, ”added the indigenous candidate.

Likewise, he felt that while Lasso is allegedly trying to distract the public’s attention, Pérez is “with the people, denouncing the fraud that we have without a transparent electoral process. Is he who knows a lot afraid very much? The native chief wondered again.

(With information from EFE)

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