The dispute over who will face Andrés Arauz in the second round of the dispute for Ecuador’s presidency on April 11 follows a ballot between left-wing indigenous leader Yaku Pérez and former conservative banker Guillermo Lasso.
With 96.72% of the votes counted, it is not yet possible to say who will occupy the seat, since Pérez has 19.66% of the vote, while Lasso has 19.6%.
This Wednesday morning (10), the indigenous chief called a vigil of votes in Guayaquil, according to the newspaper El Universo. Outside the Guayas Election Delegation, where the count is being taken, his supporters, wearing colorful flags, chanted “you can see, smell, President Yaku”.
Pérez says there is a lack of transparency in the counting, according to the Ecuadorian vehicle. He also asked his supporters to remain calm, which was not done.
Later Wednesday, the indigenous leader and representatives of his party were asked to withdraw from the electoral council of Guayas, after accusing the existence of hidden votes. With the difference in votes between him and Lasso – currently at 4,000 – diminishing as the ballot progresses, Pérez said, according to El Universo, that “at this rate it is evident that [Lasso] will catch up with me ”.
The rival is confident that he will be in the second round. “But my electoral control system is not the authority, but the CNE [Conselho Nacional Eleitoral], and we’ll be waiting for you to talk. We keep absolute faith and tranquility that we will be in the second round, ”said Tuesday (9) to journalists after a virtual meeting with the CNE and the Electoral Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), according to the newspaper Ecuadorian.
With the delay in the publication of the results of Sunday’s election (7), the President of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, appealed to the CNE. “The country needs the results, but it also needs complete confidence in these results,” he said in a statement broadcast on radio and television on Wednesday.
The representative also called on the electoral authorities to “respond to all requests for revision” of votes and to do so “with the greatest transparency”. “We aim to conduct a transparent process,” said CNE chief Diana Atamaint.
Moreno, who did not stand for election and weakens the presidency, also asked the candidates to show “their democratic vocation and the greatest concern for social peace”.
The United States, the OAS mission, and the Catholic Church in Ecuador have called for tranquility pending final official results.