ANDRÉ ARAUZ WINS FIRST ROUND OF ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By People's Dispatch.
February 8, 2021 | EDUCATE!
Above photo: (From left) Andrés Arauz, Guillermo Lasso and Yaku Pérez.
Pichincha Comunicaciones.
Heads To Run-Off On April 11.
According to the quick count, Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope
alliance (UNES) won 31.74% of the votes. However, its still unclear who his
opponent will be as two candidates are technically tied for second place.
Andrés Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope alliance (UNES) won the first
round in the Ecuadorian presidential elections that were held on Sunday,
February 7. He obtained 31.74% of the votes, as per the results of the quick
count by the national electoral council. It is not fully clear who is in the
second place as the results showed a technical tie between Guillermo Lasso of
the right-wing Creating Opportunities (CREO) party and Social Christian Party
(PSC), and Yaku Pérez of the Indigenous Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement
party. Lasso obtained 20.05% of the votes, while Pérez secured 19.85% of the
votes. The margin of votes between Lasso and Pérez is so narrow (0.2%) that
Arauz’s opponent for the run-off cannot be declared until all votes are
counted. The run-off election will be held on April 11.
According to the Ecuadorian Constitution, in order to win the presidential
election in the first round, a candidate has to obtain more than 50% of the
votes or more than 40% of the votes with a 10% lead over the runner-up. The
announcement that there would be a run-off was made by the president of the
National Electoral Council (CNE) of Ecuador, Diana Atamaint, late on Sunday.
After the announcement of the preliminary results, at a press conference,
Arauz, who is supported by former President Rafael Correa, celebrated the
victory of the left-wing alliance and thanked the citizens for their support.
Nevertheless, he pointed out that the results of the quick count were only “a
sample” estimating the trends, and that the final results could be better and
the votes in his favor could be “higher.”
“Today, the victory of the Union for Hope is clear, we are in the first place.
We received an overwhelming vote from different parts of our country and this
is a representative triumph of the national territory,” he said.
In addition, he criticized the CNE for releasing the results that “generate
anxiety, controversy, and uncertainty among the candidates.”
“The data announced by the CNE show an apparent technical tie between second
and third place [candidates]. It is technically not advisable to publish
results of this type because these generate anxiety and controversy among the
candidates, when the role of the electoral authority is to give certainty to
all parties,” said Arauz.
Meanwhile, former president Correa described the result of the CNE’s quick
count as a “lie” and called on the people “to take care of each vote.”
“The CNE’s “quick count” gives us 31%. Everyone knows that this is a lie. In
the same actual data already entered, we are at around 38%. Take care of each
vote! The deception is obvious,” tweeted Correa.
Ecuadorians also voted for 137 legislators of the National Assembly and five
parliamentarians for the Andean Parliament, the deliberative body and of
control of the Andean Community, of which Ecuador is a part.
The election day was marked by a high turnout of voters, determined to generate
change in the country, which is mired in an economic, health and institutional
crisis under the neoliberal regime of president Lenín Moreno.