Lenin Moreno Wins Ecuador Presidential Election
Ecuador's ruling-party candidate Lenin Moreno claimed victory Monday night in the country's presidential election against conservative candidate Guillermo Lasso, who is yet to acknowledge defeat after several exit polls showed he was leading by a relatively safe margin.
After his victory, Moreno tweeted: "With my heart in my hand, I thank all those who in peace and harmony went to vote. I will be the President of all and you will help me."
According to the National Electoral Council, Moreno won 51 percent of the votes while his right-wing rival Lasso won 49 percent, with more than 94 percent of the votes counted. The head of the council, Juan Pablo Pozo, declared the results and reportedly said: "Ecuador deserves the ethical responsibility from its political actors to recognize the democratic decision made by the people at the ballot box."
However, Lasso called for a recount, claiming he won by six points according to three exit polls. "They've toyed with popular will," Lasso told an Ecuadorian television station Sunday, before the declaration of the winner, according to Reuters.
After Moreno won, Lasso posted on Twitter: "Let's not be provoked. We will act democratically and with respect for authorities but firmly to defend the people's will. We're not fools, nor are the Ecuadorian people."
The leftist government has been in power for the last three elections under President Rafael Correa whose policies helped improve access to healthcare and education, as well to reduce poverty. However, his government was also criticized for corruption, media censorship and also for not adhering to many of its environmental promises. On the other side, Lasso offered a pro-business program, which promised tax cuts and an increase in the number of jobs in the country of 15 million. But his alternative sounded contradictory to his own actions; Lasso is accused of tax avoidance through several offshore accounts, according to the Guardian.
President Rafael Correa, who supported Moreno in the election, celebrated the outcome and said "The moral fraud of the right-wing won't go unpunished," referring to Lasso's claims that he was winning based on three exit polls.
Numerous supporters of Lasso protested outside the electoral council office Sunday night, shouting "No to fraud, yes to democracy!," according to Reuters. Reacting on Twitter, Correa said: "Outbreaks of violence in Quito, Esmeraldas, Ibarra and Azogues. That they fail at the ballot box, they want to achieve it by force."
Moreno's victory also came as a relief for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorian embassy in London since he was granted asylum under Correa's government in 2012. Lasso had promised to ask Assange to leave the embassy, if he was elected, calling the WikiLeaks founder a burden on the country's taxpayers, USA Today reported. Assange took shelter in the embassy while fighting against his extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted on allegations of sexual misconduct.
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