The campaign for the second round will begin in Ecuador on March 16th

The National Electoral Council of Ecuador announced the official results of the presidential and legislative elections on February 7th.

After examining 100% of the records, the Electoral College decided that the presidential candidates Andres Arause and Guillermo Laso will face in the second round, which will be held on April 11th.

According to the published results, Arause of the Confederation of Port La Esperanza, which includes Curismo, received 32.72% of the total; While Lasso, of the Creando Oportunidades Movement (CREO) in alliance with the Christian Social Party (PSC), won 1,830,045 votes in his favor, 19.74%.

In third, and very close to second, was Yaku Perez, of the original Pachacutec Party, with 1,797,445 votes – just 32,600 votes less than Laso -, 19.39% of the total.

Since none of the candidates has obtained 50% of the vote plus one or at least 40% and a difference of more than 10 points over the second, the ballot will take place.

The election campaign for the second round will begin on March 16, according to the electoral calendar.

And the President of the National Electoral Council, Diana Atment, ordered that political figures be notified of the results, leaving the challenge phase open to the organizations they represent. Political organizations can file complaints with the National Electoral Council or through the Controversial Electoral Tribunal (TCE).

In addition to electing the new president, Ecuadorians voted to choose a vice president, 173 members of the National Assembly (Congress) and five representatives of the Andean Parliament, an organ of the Andean community of which Ecuador is part.

Report from the Organization of American States.

The Organization of American States (OAS) Election Observation Mission has published its report on the February 7 elections. The document acknowledges passage to the second round of Andrés Arauz (Unes) and Guillermo Lasso (Creo-PSC), but demands that challenges presented in time be solved so that the electoral calendar can be met.

“According to the announcement of the results published by the National Elections Council after counting 100% of the votes, the two candidates, Andres Arause and Guillermo Laso, will compete in the second electoral round,” added the document published yesterday.

“The mission notes that, after publishing the election results on political issues, those who are not satisfied can file administrative and judicial appeals, provided that they have evidence of inconsistencies and irregularities and that their claims abide by the current rules of law,” the statement said.

Araws remarks

Arause described the collection of digital content from the National Electoral Council (CNE) database that the Office of the State Attorney General declared “an attack on democracy”.

In a press conference yesterday, the candidate indicated that the procedure is “interference and interference” in the electoral process. This is publicly illegal. “The diligence required of the Attorney General’s office to conduct a computer system expert in the middle of the election process should be viewed as interference;” Andres Arouz said: “It violates Article 16 of the Democracy Act.”

Article 16 of the Law on Democracy (the Basic Electoral Law of Ecuador) states: “No authority outside the electoral organization shall interfere directly or indirectly in the development of electoral processes or the work of electoral bodies”.

“We have already submitted, as a political organization, in the early hours of the morning, via electronic and physical means, the complaint to the controversial electoral court regarding this serious violation of the law by the authorities in the electoral process,” Arroz said.