In the Ecuadorian runoff for the presidency, Luisa González, the candidate backed by day votes, and Daniel Noboa, a businessman, are contending to lead the country for the next phase, signaling a pivotal moment in national politics.
Diana Atamaint, head of the National Electoral Council, reported that voting proceeded smoothly in the vast majority of districts, with only a small number of warnings about irregularities. She emphasized that the electoral process ran in a calm and orderly fashion across roughly nine tenths of the constituencies.
By the six-hour mark of the election day, local time, participation had reached 43.72 percent of eligible voters, according to Atamaint, who noted the overall roll was properly registered and up to date. Her remarks included details about the accessibility of polling stations, highlighting that priority services were provided for the disabled and elderly, with 52.2 percent of registered men and 47.8 percent of registered women benefiting from these arrangements.
Atamaint also confirmed that a single incident had been reported in the Amazonian province of Sucumbíos, where social media footage suggested a person may have marked more than one ballot. She called on the competent authorities to accelerate the investigation and insisted that severe penalties should apply to anyone found guilty of criminal wrongdoing in the voting process.
On the same day, Interior Minister Juan Zapata presented the second situation report, explaining that police investigative units had initiated formal inquiries into the reported incident. The authorities acted promptly to identify and address any potential breach of electoral rules.
An individual was later identified and arrested for the act of marking fourteen ballot papers, an offense that struck at the heart of the electoral process and raised concerns about the integrity of the runoff.
Despite the incident, Zapata characterized the day as peaceful overall and rejected claims of a security attack. He acknowledged that six prank calls containing warnings had been received, but insisted they were not acted upon, as the security apparatus maintained its routine operations without disruption.
Zapata affirmed that the country remains in a state of public order, noting that the police had issued 254 summonses in total. Among these, 250 were linked to violations of the so‑called “dry law,” which restricts the sale and consumption of alcohol during the voting period, and four were related to prohibitions on political campaigning in certain zones. He concluded by expressing optimism that democracy would prevail on election day and stated that everything was operating normally and calmly.
The contest is scheduled to determine the country’s next leader for a temporary term of approximately 15 months, a consequence of the constitutional mechanism that fills the presidency for the remainder of the 2021‑2025 period after the current president, Guillermo Lasso, invoked a dissolution of parliament last May. This extraordinary election was triggered to complete the tenure of the unfulfilled term following a political process that culminated in the dissolution of the National Assembly amid impeachment proceedings.
Under the same constitutional framework, Lasso dissolved the assembly controlled by opponents aligned with the Correismo movement while impeachment proceedings were underway. He faced accusations of embezzlement, which he has denied. The procedural steps were undertaken to ensure the continuity of governance and the orderly resolution of a political crisis that tested the country’s institutions and public trust during a time of heightened political tension.
As voters exercised their rights in this important electoral moment, observers and citizens alike watched for signs of stability, transparency, and adherence to established rules designed to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process and the legitimacy of the eventual outcome. The overall mood remained focused on constitutional norms and the peaceful conduct of voters across the nation. (Attribution: statements from the National Electoral Council and the Ministry of Interior, corroborated by official communications.)