Ecuador’s incumbent president and leftist lawyer in election runoff

Ecuadorians have voted in the country’s presidential election runoff in a tight race between incumbent President Daniel Noboa and left-wing lawyer Luisa Gonzalez.

After polls closed, electoral authorities reported voter participation of more than 80% and planned to release initial results later.

Mr Noboa, a conservative young millionaire, and Ms Gonzalez both promised voters solutions to the extortions, killings, kidnappings and other crimes that became part of everyday life as the country emerged from the pandemic.

Analysts expect the result of Sunday’s vote to have a very tight margin.

It was the second presidential runoff election in less than two years in the South American country, where voting is mandatory. Voters chose Mr Noboa over Ms Gonzalez in the runoff of a snap election in October 2023.

The candidates advanced to Sunday’s contest after getting the most votes in February’s first-round election. Mr Noboa won 44.17% of the votes while Ms Gonzalez took 44%. About 17,000 votes separated them.