2023-09-25 00:45:36
The electoral campaign with a view to the second presidential round on October 15 in Ecuador, in which Luisa González and Daniel Noboa will measure their strength policies seeking to replace President Guillermo Lasso, officially began this Sunday, in the middle of a process that was impacted by the worst insecurity crisis in the history of the Andean country.
On August 9, a few weeks before election day, Fernando Villavicencio, who was running for the presidency of Ecuador and placed fourth in the electoral preferences, was murdered north of Quito at the exit of a political rally, in an unprecedented event that shocked Ecuadorians.
González, a 45-year-old lawyer who represents the left-wing Citizen Revolution movement, led by former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), recently filed a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office for an alleged plan to attack his life and agreed to wear a bulletproof vest.
The candidate, who led the first round with almost 34% of the votes, assured that she learned of the alleged plan through the statement of a detainee who was carrying a grenade and confessed that it was going to be used against the candidate in a political meeting. . This declaration would consist in audio recordings in the possession of the Prosecutor’s Office that have not been made public, he assured.
The violence and insecurity that have placed Ecuador among the most dangerous countries in the region, with a record rate of 25.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022 and which is expected to be widely surpassed by the end of 2023, puts the fight against organized crime among the priorities of the candidates’ offers, according to experts.
The “correísta” candidate, Luisa González, and the young son of a businessman, Daniel Noboa, are going to the runoff. AFP Photo
For the political analyst and professor Santiago Cahuasquí, the candidates aim for “a change of format in the campaign”, given that the electorate seeks “a new alternative” to avoid falling into polarization and confrontation.
The political scientist told The Associated Press that whoever wins the presidency must dedicate themselves to regaining control of the State through a national agreement that lays the foundations to resolve underlying problems such as insecurity, economic crisis and unemployment.
Noboa, a young politician and businessman of 35 years and son of the Ecuadorian magnate Álvaro Noboa, surprisingly achieved 23.47% of the votes and after displacing the favorites he was placed in the second round. Apply for the National Democratic Action alliance.
For 19 days, both candidates will be able to promote themselves in an “equitable and egalitarian” manner, promoting debate and disseminating their government proposals, states article 202 of the Code of Democracy.
Applicants will have a promotion budget provided by the National Electoral Council and must respect the spending limit on events, rallies and promotional items. The delivery of donations, gifts and gifts to citizens is prohibited.
A little less than a month before the presidential elections, uncertainty remains regarding electoral preferences.
Some 13.45 million Ecuadorians will go to the polls to choose the future ruler after Lasso dissolved the National Assembly in May, which intended to politically prosecute him, and shortened his own term. The new president will take office on December 11 to govern until May 2025.
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