Ecuador’s Center-Right President is Comfortably Re-Elected — Communist Opponent Refuses to Concede and Alleges Fraud

Ecuador’s election authorities have declared President Daniel Noboa the winner of Sunday’s runoff vote.

Far-left opposition candidate Luisa González, who is the protegé of the former socialist leader Rafael Correa, has so far refused to concede.

With 91 percent of votes counted, Noboa held and insurmountable clear lead of 56 percent fo Gonzalez’s 44 percent.

Diana Atamaint, head of the electoral council, said the results showed an “irreversible trend” confirming Noboa’s victory.

However, Gonzalez told supporters Quito that the official count did not match internal polling and she could not be the loser.

“We will ask for a recount and for the ballot boxes to be reopened,” González said.

Correa, meanwhile, took to the X platform to insist that results were “impossible” because she had not improved her vote tally from the first round of voting.

“We all know these results are impossible,” he wrote. “We got the same 44 percent as in the first round.”

”These criminals could have concealed it a bit better,” he added.

Home to around 18 million people, Ecuador has long swung between socialist rule under Rafael Correa and more market-oriented administrations.

During her campaign, González vowed to increase public spending and revive Correa-era social programs, while also seeking closer ties with socialist regimes in Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela.

In recent years, Ecuador has seen a surge in gang violence fueled mainly by drug trafficking, making national security a central issue in Noboa’s campaign.

The country remains one of the few in Latin America to officially use the U.S. dollar—an arrangement previously opposed by left-wing governments.

At just 35 years old, Noboa is one of the world’s youngest heads of state. He also holds U.S. citizenship, having been born in Miami.