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News > Ecuador

Ecuador Still Counts the Votes of the Presidential Elections

  • National Electoral Council (CNE) members count votes in Quito, Ecuador, Feb. 8, 2021.

    National Electoral Council (CNE) members count votes in Quito, Ecuador, Feb. 8, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 11 February 2021
Opinion

Guillermo Lasso and Yaku Perez are vying for a place to participate in the second round of the elections.

Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) informed that the counting of the votes of the presidential elections held on February 7 will end on Sunday.

RELATED:

Arauz Keeps the Lead in Ecuador's Presidential Elections

On this day, it will be possible to know who will compete with the Union for Hope (UNES) candidate Andres Arauz in the second round of elections on April 11.

So far, the only certainty is that Arauz, a young left-wing economist, is in first place with 32.62 percent of the votes. Second place cannot yet be officially defined because of the narrow vote gap between the right-wing candidate Guillermo Lasso and the U.S.-backed "eco-socialist" candidate Yaku Perez.

As of Thursday morning, Lasso was slightly ahead with 19.66 percent of the votes and Perez had achieved 19.61 percent of the votes.

"The race is still too close to predict which one of the two candidates will advance to the second round to be held in April. We will need at least 48 more hours to finish the count," CNE President Diana Atamaint said, adding that the CNE still has to wait for the ballots from abroad to arrive in Ecuador. 

With 99.90 percent of the tally sheets counted, the CNE is reviewing those sheets having inconsistencies. Authorities fear that riots may occur if any of the candidates proclaim electoral fraud.

Perez, who represents the Pachakutik movement, is in Guayaquil to verify the vote-counting process. "We are on permanent vigil to demand transparency, honesty, and respect for our votes from the CNE," he said.

"Democracy is wounded, and it is about to mourn," Perez added, alluding to an alleged fraud after Lasso gained an advantage in the vote count.

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