MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Noboa reelected as President of Ecuador

Noboa celebrated, although González did not acknowledge defeat and spoke of fraud

Daniel Noboa was reelected president of Ecuador with nearly 56% of the vote against Luisa González's almost 44.2% in Sunday's runoff, the National Electoral Council (CNE) confirmed. It was a rematch of the 2023 runoff in which Noboa prevailed as well.

González did not acknowledge defeat and cried “fraud,” as did her mentor and former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), who lives in exile in Belgium to avoid going to jail on corruption charges. CNE Chairwoman Diana Atamaint declared Noboa's win “irreversible” while González's Citizen Revolution party said it intends to challenge the results legally. Voter turnout was 83.7%.

The candidates of the ”National Democratic Action (ADN) formed by Daniel Noboa Azin and Maria Jose Pinto“ are the winners, Atamaint said. ”Our sincere congratulations to those who have earned the trust of the Ecuadorian people.“

While Noboa celebrated the outcome that will allow him to push for a new Constituent Assembly to replace the 2008 one and advance his agenda against organized crime and economic liberalization, González spoke of ”the biggest fraud in the history of Ecuador.”

Noboa followed Sunday's process from his beach house in Olon, a town in the coastal province of Santa Elena, where he has set his residence, in the company of his wife, the 'influencer' Lavinia Valbonesi, and his mother, Annabella Azin, who is one of the elected assemblywomen with more possibilities of presiding over the National Assembly (Parliament).

During his campaign, Noboa pledged to seek a reform to the Constitution approved in 2008 under Correa, in a move to deepen his fight against organized crime as well as liberalize the economy.

The elections were again held under heavy security measures, with a deployment of close to 100,000 troops.

Since early 2024, Ecuador has been under an “internal armed conflict” decreed by President Noboa to confront organized crime. The country records an average of one murder per hour.

With 94.06% of the ballots counted, Noboa had 55.83% of the valid votes against Correa's 44.17%. González had edged Noboa by some 16,000 votes in the first round.

“The CR has always recognized a defeat when the polls have shown it”, but “today we do not recognize the results,” and “I refuse to believe that there is a people that prefers lies before the truth,” González claimed. “We are going to ask for a recount and for the polls to be opened,” she added while recalling Noboa's irregularities such as not going on leave during his reelection campaign and the declaration of a new state of exception in seven provinces and two municipalities, among others.