QUITO: Incumbent President Daniel Noboa on Monday clutched onto a razor-thin lead in violence-hit Ecuador's election, after a stronger-than-expected leftist challenger looked set to force a second-round run-off. With more than 90 per cent of the ballots counted, Noboa had 44.3 per cent and rival Luisa Gonzalez 43.8 per cent, official results showed. Gonzalez, a 47-year-old lawyer and single mother of two, told elated supporters in Quito that they had achieved a "great victory" by forcing what she called a "statistical tie". "We have won," she said. The telegenic lawmaker had trailed heavily in pre-election surveys.
Some exit polls had even predicted that Noboa would garner the 50 per cent of votes needed to avoid a head-to-head contest in April. But the election was seen by many as a referendum on the country's stalled economy and on Noboa's hardline security response. More than ten million votes have been counted so far, but it could be some hours before the full tally is known. Still, Noboa's supporters were in a jubilant mood, lighting fireworks in Quito and Guayaquil, the country's two largest cities. — AFP
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