Ecuadorans turned their attention to the ballot boxes on Sunday as the nation engaged in a pivotal presidential election marked by grim undertones due to the tragic assassination of a prominent candidate. This incident thrust the spotlight onto the escalating violence that has engulfed a once-peaceful country now entangled in the intricate web of the global illicit drug trade.
Voting commenced at 7:00 am local time (1200 GMT) and was set to continue until 5:00 pm. The election aimed to select a successor to Guillermo Lasso, who strategically called for a snap election in a bid to sidestep an impeachment trial, a mere two years after securing his initial election victory.
In a bid to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, troops were dispatched across the compact South American nation. The tense election campaign compelled all eight presidential contenders to campaign while donning bulletproof vests, underscoring the palpable atmosphere of unease.
Ecuador's recent history has witnessed an unfortunate transformation into a battleground for foreign drug cartels seeking to exploit the cocaine trade, subsequently igniting a violent conflict between local gangs.
The prelude to the election was marred by a series of political assassinations, with the murder of the formidable presidential contender, Fernando Villavicencio, occurring a mere 11 days before the election itself. This grim occurrence illuminated the substantial challenges confronting the nation.
Political analyst Anamaria Correa Crespo reflected on the dire situation, stating, "These elections are entirely atypical, transpiring within a backdrop of horrors that Ecuador is currently enduring…a situation exacerbated by the prevailing violence, and which reached a more acute and horrific climax with the assassination of Villavicencio."
In the year 2022, Ecuador recorded an alarming murder rate of 26 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, surpassing the rates observed in countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil.
The electoral landscape was thrown into disarray when President Lasso dissolved Congress in May as a strategic maneuver to thwart an impending impeachment process entangled with corruption allegations.
Prior to Villavicencio's tragic demise, Luisa Gonzalez, a 45-year-old lawyer hailing from the leftist party linked to former president Rafael Correa, held a commanding lead in the polls. Nevertheless, the assassination significantly disrupted the dynamics of the race. Villavicencio, previously in second place in the polls, was replaced at the eleventh hour by another journalist, Christian Zurita.
As the election loomed, Zurita shared that he had received threats on social media, vowing that such intimidation wouldn't deter his mission. Meanwhile, political analysts noted the remarkable surge in popularity for 40-year-old right-wing businessman Jan Topic, known as "Rambo." The former paratrooper and sniper from the French Foreign Legion pledged to eradicate criminal syndicates and enhance prison infrastructure, drawing inspiration from El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.
Additional notable contenders included Otto Sonnenholzner, a former right-wing vice-president, and Yaku Perez, a leftist Indigenous attorney. Against the backdrop of Ecuador's extraordinary biodiversity, two significant referendums coincided with the election day. One referendum queried voters on their stance regarding continued oil drilling in the Amazon, while the other centered on the prohibition of mining activities in the Choco Andino forest.
Securing victory in the initial round necessitates garnering 40 percent of the votes or maintaining a 10-point lead over the nearest rival. A potential runoff is scheduled for October 15. The newly elected president is slated to assume office on October 26, fulfilling the remainder of Lasso's term, which spans a year and a half. Concurrently, voters will elect representatives for the 137-seat parliament.
Preliminary election results are anticipated to emerge on the same night, with the final count projected to materialize within ten days, shedding light on the course Ecuador is poised to embark upon.
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