QUITO: Ecuadorans head to the polls on Sunday in a presidential election tarnished by the murder of a top candidate, which cast a spotlight on the violence ravaging a once-peaceful nation.
The eight presidential candidates have prioritised promises to crack down on organised crime, all while campaigning in bulletproof vests.
Several political assassinations marked the run-up to the vote, with the murder of serious presidential contender Fernando Villavicencio just 11 days from the election underscoring the challenges facing the country.
"These are completely atypical elections, in a situation basically of horror that Ecuador is going through... due to the existing violence, but which manifested itself in a more acute and atrocious way" with Villavicencio's murder, political scientist Anamaria Correa Crespo said.
President Guillermo Lasso called the snap election after he dissolved the opposition-dominated Congress in May to avoid an impeachment trial just two years after his election.
Leading the polls before the murder was Luisa Gonzalez, 45, a lawyer from the leftist party of former president Rafael Correa.
Villavicencio, who was polling second before his murder, was replaced last-minute by another journalist, Christian Zurita.
Hours ahead of the vote, Zurita said he was receiving death threats on social media.
"The threats against my life and my team will not stop us, but they are forcing us to take greater security protocols," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding that his party had alerted authorities and election observers.
Political analysts say the candidate who has seen the biggest boost to his popularity is 40-year-old right-wing businessman Jan Topic.
Nicknamed "Rambo," the former paratrooper and sniper with the French Foreign Legion has vowed to wipe out criminal gangs and build more prisons, emulating El Salvador's Nayib Bukele.
Other leading candidates are right-wing former vice-president Otto Sonnenholzner, and leftist Indigenous attorney Yaku Perez.
In one of the world's most biodiverse countries, two key referendums are taking place alongside the election.
The new president will take office on October 26, and will only serve the remainder of Lasso's term, a year and a half.
Voters will also elect members of the 137-seat parliament.
Soldiers have been deployed across the country to secure the vote.
Initial results are expected to trickle in the same night, with a final tally expected in 10 days. — AFP
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