Noboa, Ecuador president, fails to secure majority in election
The centre-right President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, has failed to secure an outright majority in elections, prompting a run-off vote against his closest rival. The second-round vote, scheduled for April, will determine whether or not Noboa will remain in power. He has overseen a tough crackdown on crime during an unprecedented security crisis brought about by an international drug trade, as well as a high rate of homicides.
Neither Noboa nor his rival, leftist Luisa González, have gained an outright majority in the tightly contested election. Noboa led the 16 candidates, gaining 44.29% of the vote while González was close behind at 43.85%.
Under the Constitution of Ecuador, candidates need over 50% of the vote to win the first round or by 40% if their margin is 10 percentage points above the next closest candidate.
The 37-year-old Noboa is the son of a banana tycoon. He won a snap election in 2023 on the back of a pledge to take action on rampant crime and violence that turned a once tranquil nation into one hit by violence and turf wars from drug cartels. That vote was called after his predecessor, Guillermo Lasso, resigned to avoid being impeached after a series of crises.
But the 14 months in office that Noboa spent have had their fair share of issues. The youngest-ever president in Ecuador’s history, Noboa has declared multiple states of emergency, deploying military units to take on gang violence. He has begun the construction of a new maximum-security prison, following the escape of an infamous criminal leader in 2024.
On Monday, he declared victory in the first round. “Now, as has been the custom of this government, we will fight as we did on the first day, so that your dream of a fair and developing country is fulfilled,” he wrote on X.
González, who finished as the runner-up in 2023, ran on campaign to “Revive Ecuador,” pledging to take on the drug trade just as much as Noboa. She hailed the results as a “great victory,” saying that she was confident of winning the run-off election. “Daniel Noboa represents fear, we represent hope, the change to transform this country,” González said, according to CNN en Español.
The main challenges for the next government, which takes office in May, will be the economy, security, an energy crisis, and international relations.
“Security is the biggest problem the government has had, but in a country with huge social inequalities like Ecuador, I believe that among the priorities of the less advantaged sectors are, in addition to security, health and education,” Santiago Basabe, an analyst and professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, told CNNE.
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[Image Credit: Jenny Miska]
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