Elections in Ecuador: the trend has turned and now Guillermo Lasso overtakes Yaku Pérez in the race for second place

In the midst of a tight tally that persists three days after the elections, the candidate of the CREO Movement, Guillermo Lasso, surpassed this Wednesday and by a small margin to Yaku Pérez, of the Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement, according to data from the National Electoral Committee (CNE) of Ecuador.

If this trend continues, Lasso would continue to contest the ballot against candidate Andrés Arauz, runner Union for Hope, who was the most voted in Sunday’s election with 32.45% but fell short of the percentage needed to win in the first round.

From the first results, Lasso was in third place but very close to Pérez, an indigenous leader who had surprised with his remarkable electoral performance.

This Wednesday afternoon, however, Lasso won with 19.63% of the vote (1,770,272) against 19.62% of Pérez (1,769,253), a difference of only 0.01% or 1019 votes. During this time, 99.81% of the records examined were achieved.

For the third day in a row, Ecuador is experiencing a tense wait to meet the second presidential candidate who will go to the polls on April 11, between the calls of the indigenous movement for a “great mobilization” and those of the various powers of the State to stay calm.

Leaving strict silence on electoral matters, President Lenín Moreno, who will step down from power on May 24, had to ask all parties for “calm”, “patience” and “caution”.

In a recorded video, he said the CNE had the answer with the accompaniment of international observers.

They will have to “certify the country with the final results”, he stressed, urging this body, the candidates and the company to “respect the law without restriction”.

But, at the same time, he called on the CNE to “respond to all requests for review that candidates request”.

The heads of the National Assembly, the Judicial Council and the transparency and social control function joined his call in a joint statement.

Yaku Pérez, who is waiting to see if he passes the second round of the presidential election in Ecuador, He accused on Tuesday the former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017) of “putting his hand” in the electoral count and asked his supporters for “peace”.

It is in the “incoherent minutes (with incidents) where they could put their invisible hand, which is a hand from Belgium (where Correa currently resides), who does not want Pérez to go to the second round, but rather for the (center-right) candidate Guillermo Lasso to pass, ”Pérez told the media ahead of a meeting with the National Electoral Council (CNE) and the Election Observation Mission (MOE) of the OAS.

This meeting was held at the request of a recommendation presented on Monday by the head of the MOE, Isabel de Saint Malo, in order to reduce the tensions that have arisen in the country due to the technical link recorded during the presidential election on Sunday.

With information from EFE

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