QUITO – Ecuador began an electoral process on Sunday that will decide its future among 16 candidates.
The voting intention polls were led by Andrés Arauz, a young leftist sponsored by former President Rafael Correa, and Guillermo Lasso, a former right-wing banker, who is appearing at the polls for the third consecutive time for the same position.
A little further away in third position is the applicant Yaku Pérez, from the indigenous party, Pachakutik.
At the inauguration of the electoral process, the vice president, María Alejandra Muñoz, invited her compatriots to go out and vote, overcoming fear of the pandemic and convinced that suffrage is “a cause for our freedoms and for the development of the country, therefore today each of us has a duty to exercise it ”.
He added that “the consequences of not all Ecuadorians being included in short, medium and long-term solutions could be disastrous” by influencing the decision “to whom we are going to entrust the power of the public, of what we belongs to everyone ”.
Polling station delegates were provided with masks and disinfectant alcohol to protect themselves from the coronavirus, although in many polling places there were complaints that delegates did not arrive in time to set up tables.
This is an inclusion initiative run by the National Electoral Council (CNE) since 2012
In some of the largest voting precincts in cities such as Quito and Guayaquil, the entry of the media was prohibited as a precaution against possible infections.
In order for a first round to win, a candidate must obtain 40% of the vote plus 10 points of advantage over his closest rival, if this does not happen, a ballot has been set for April 11.
One of the 16 candidates must replace, from May 24 of this year, President Lenín Moreno, who at the time was also sponsored by Correa (2007-2017), who is a fugitive from justice after being tried for crimes of corruption .
Ecuador enters tomorrow in the electoral campaign with a view to the general elections of 2021, with the historical record of 16 candidates qualified as firm, who aspire to succeed Lenín Moreno, who will end his term on May 24.
The elections began amid strict sanitary measures due to the coronavirus, including voting with a mask, bringing your own bottle of gel or disinfectant alcohol, your own pencil, keeping the minimum social distancing of 1.5 meters and avoiding all personal contact in the electoral precinct . The only time the voter should uncover his face will be when the table delegates verify identity.
The authorities have also banned the traditional street sales of food and all kinds of small objects that surrounded the electoral precincts amid loud music.
Almost 13.1 million voters have been called to Sunday’s elections, who will be able to go to the polls between 07:00 and 17:00 (1200 and 2200 GMT).
For 16 and 17-year-olds, as well as for seniors, voting is optional, while for citizens aged 18 to 65 it is mandatory. In case of not paying, the expected fine is $ 40.
The results of an official quick count of the Electoral Council will be known three hours after the closing of the polling stations.
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