Polling Stations Close In Ecuador’s Early General Elections

Polling stations closed this Sunday in Ecuador after the election day in which more than 13.4 million Ecuadorians were called to the polls to elect the successor of President Guillermo Lasso, the vice president and members of the National Assembly (Congress).

RELATED:
Ecuadorians Concerned About Deficiencies in Online Vote Abroad

Polling centers closed at 17:00 local time (22:00 GMT), after a 10-hour day marked by a strong military and police contingent at the polling precincts, due to the wave of violence and insecurity sweeping the country.

The presidential candidates participating voted with a security cordon and some even wore bulletproof vests and helmets.

The CNE reported a normal voting day with high electoral participation. During the day there was also a popular consultation on oil and mining, an exercise promoted by environmental groups.

The tweet reads, "Enrique Pita, Vice President of the National Electoral Council of Ecuador, points out that the beginning of the scrutiny stage is given with the counting of the assigned votes.  "The presence of the Ecuador Electoral Observation Missions helps to make transparent the work to be done by each of the JRVs."

After the closing of the polls, the CNE began counting the votes and expects to issue the first preliminary results at 19:30 local time (00:30 GMT Monday).

The CNE stated in a communiqué that it will be the only instance in charge of disseminating the official results through different channels. This means that the approximations disseminated by the companies authorized to make exit polls "do not constitute official results."

Eight candidates, among them one woman and seven men, ran to succeed president Lasso, who shortened his four-year term (2021-2025), after he decreed last May 17 the constitutional figure of "cross death."

With this measure, Lasso dissolved the National Assembly and called for early general elections, in the midst of an impeachment trial he was facing in Congress for alleged embezzlement.

Whoever wins the Presidency must lead the country until May 2025, when Lasso's term should end. The Ecuadorian president urged this Sunday to respect the results, "in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility, to address the most pressing problems of the Ecuadorian people."