Ecuador's presidential election will head to a second-round runoff on April 13, with incumbent President Daniel Noboa and left-wing challenger Luisa Gonzalez locked in a tight race. Preliminary results with 80 percent of the ballots counted show Noboa with 44.4 percent and Gonzalez with 44.1 percent.
Gonzalez, a political protege of former President Rafael Correa, exceeded expectations, fueled by a surge in support. Her performance was a surprise, given pre-election surveys that predicted a stronger result for Noboa. Noboa, the 37-year-old son of a billionaire banana magnate, had hoped to secure the 50 percent of votes needed to avoid a runoff.
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Ecuador's struggling economy and Noboa's hard-line approach to crime in the face of escalating violence driven by drug cartels. Noboa has taken aggressive measures, including declaring a state of emergency and deploying the army to combat crime, actions that have drawn criticism from human rights groups.
The Constitutional Court recently ruled invalid two decrees that Noboa used to take campaign leave in the first round of the election, potentially complicating his ability to name an interim vice president and campaign ahead of the runoff.