Accompanied by sharp safety precautions and a spacious state of emergency, the runoff election to the presidency takes place in Ecuador.
Quito – In the middle of a serious security crisis, the presidential election began in Ecuador this Sunday (April 13). In the runoff election in the South American country with its approximately 18 million inhabitants, the liberal -conservative incumbent Daniel Noboa and the left -wing politician Luisa González compete against each other.
Benefit to the presidency: Ecuador has a massive crime problem
González belongs to the camp of ex-President Rafael Correa. The two candidates are almost the same in the latest surveys. Ecuador has a massive crime problem. Mighty drug gangs spread in the once quite safe country, over the Pacific ports, large amounts of cocaine are smuggled primarily to Europe and Asia. President Noboa declared the state of emergency and sent the armed forces into the fight against the gangs.
Many Ecuadorians are also concerned about the poor economic situation. The South American country has been in a recession, poverty and unemployment since last year. The number of emigration is as high as it has not been in 15 years.
Benefit to the presidency in Ecuador: 37-year-old Daniel Noboa is the incumbent
Noboa was elected President in October 2023 after his predecessor Guillermo Lasso had dissolved the parliament after two years in office and scheduled the elections. At the age of 35, the son of a rich banana entrepreneur was democratically democratically elected by the people of Ecuador. While he was enjoying broad support from the population at the beginning, resentment over his office recently spread
The incumbent head of state Noboa had imposed the state of emergency over parts of the South American country with a view to the runoff election. In a decree, he justified the measure with the “increasing violence by organized armed groups”. The state of emergency applies in the capital Quito and in seven provinces, as well as in all Ecuadorian prisons. This overridden in the affected areas is freedom of assembly, and there is also a nightly lock. (AFP)
