In what is being hailed by observers as yet another incontrovertible proof that democracy will not be derailed, Ecuadorians braved the pandemic in droves last Sunday to cast their votes for the runoff elections.
Andrez Araus, the left-wing candidate, conceded to former banker Guillermo Lasso, who rode to victory with 53% of the votes in the runoff elections. Arauz had earlier led the first round of voting with more than 30% on Feb. 7, while Lasso slid into runoff by edging indigenous candidate Yaku Perez by half a percentage point.
“I congratulate him on his electoral triumph today and I will show him our democratic convictions,” said Arauz, a known protégé of outgoing president Rafael Correa.
To minimize risks, the CNE has implemented biosafety measures overseen by the 85,000 members of the armed forces and police. Voters have been ordered to wear a mask, bring their own bottle of hand sanitizer and pencil, keep a 5-foot (1.5-meter) distance from others and avoid all personal contact in the polling place. The only time voters were allowed to lower their masks will be during the identification process.
Vice President Maria Alejandra Munoz said after the first round that these elections are "crucial" since they are taking place in a different context, "because we have not experienced a pandemic like the current one and the consequences that not all Ecuadorians are included in the short-, medium-, and long-term solutions could be dire."
CNE President Diana Atamaint said that the election was the most important day of the exercise of democracy. “Today, Ecuador wins and democracy wins," said Atamaint.
She admitted that organizing the elections during the pandemic has been a "challenge," but that the necessary sanitary conditions have been created to "care for the health of Ecuadorians and for democracy."
A total of 13,099,150 Ecuadorians, including 410,239 living abroad, were registered to vote in the elections, which had some 38,808 polling stations nationwide.
Ecuadorian voters also decided the occupants of 137 seats in the National Assembly and five seats in the Andean Parliament.
