OAS ok’s Ecuadorian Election!
Quito, Feb 11 (EFE).-
The electoral observation mission of the Organization of American States for the Ecuadorian elections said Tuesday in its preliminary report that last weekend’s election was transparent and had no widespread irregularities to doubt its results.
The mission said the results released by the electoral council match the data collected by election observers. This contradicts President Daniel Noboa who spoke Tuesday morning of “many irregularities” in the vote count, adding that the entity’s quick count placed him higher.
However, observers, led by former Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz, called on political forces to present any complaint to the competent authorities.
The organization said elections were “technically sound and without major setbacks,” and added that “the official results are those issued by the (election council), since observation missions do not replace the national electoral authorities or interfere with their powers.”
With 97.61 percent of the votes counted, Noboa obtained 44.19 percent of the valid votes compared to 43.91 percent for opposition candidate Luisa Gonzalez, which leads the presidential elections to a second round between these two candidates.
Noboa will repeat the confrontation they had in the second round of the extraordinary elections of 2023, where the businessman won to complete the mandate of the outgoing Guillermo Lasso did not complete.
In the vote count “the mission found that in 43 percent of the tables observed the established procedures were not followed,” according to the preliminary report released. EFE
fgg/lds
