Ecuador's electoral commission has formally ruled that a runoff election will be needed to choose a successor for socialist President Rafael Correa. The body's announcement on Wednesday confirms its earlier indication that ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno and conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso will face off in an April 2 vote.
Tension mounted as vote counting in Ecuador's presidential election dragged into a third day on Tuesday, with supporters and opponents of outgoing President Rafael Correa trading heated accusations. With the last ballots trickling in from Sunday's election, ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno had a little over 39% of the votes and an almost 11-point lead over conservative Guillermo Lasso, a former banker who finished second.
President Rafael Correa has 60.6% of vote intention ahead of the February Executive and Legislative elections, which virtually ensures his re-election. He is followed by runner up and banker Guillermo Lasso with only 11.2% according to the latest public opinion poll release from Perfiles de Opinion.
Ecuador's Congress voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to grant President Rafael Correa a month-long leave of absence while he campaigns to be the first Ecuadorean leader in more than a century to hold the presidency for more than a single term.