Quito [Ecuador], April 15: Ecuador's conservative President Daniel Noboa has secured victory in the country's presidential run-off vote on Sunday, according to preliminary results.
Noboa, 37, won 55.9% of the vote, defeating left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez, who received 44.1%, the electoral authority said after nearly all ballots were counted.
Gonzalez, from former president Rafael Correa's camp, told supporters she does not accept the outcome and will demand a recount.
Noboa and Gonzalez were almost neck and neck in the latest polls. The son of a billionaire banana magnate, Noboa now faces steep challenges as he begins a new full term in office while the nation is roiled by multiple crises.
Ecuador is struggling with soaring crime, with the murder rate having risen from 5.8 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2017 to 50.7 today.
Powerful drug gangs are spreading throughout the once relatively safe country and large amounts of cocaine are being smuggled through ports on the Pacific, mainly to Europe and Asia.
President Noboa declared a state of emergency in response, calling in the armed forces to take down the gangs. His tough-on-crime approach has earned him both praise and criticism during his brief time in office.
Many Ecuadorians are also concerned about the economic situation, with the nation in recession since last year. Poverty and unemployment have both increased and the number of emigrants is higher than in the past 15 years.
Noboa was elected president in October 2023 after his predecessor Guillermo Lasso dissolved parliament after just two years in office.
Aged 35, he was the youngest democratically elected president of Ecuador.
Sunday's vote was held to elect a full-term president, as Noboa's previous victory only allowed him to complete the remainder of Lasso's term in office.
Source: Qatar Tribune