Leftist Arauz to face Indigenous fellow leftist Perez in Ecuador presidential runoff
Leftist economist Andrés Arauz will face indigenous candidate Yaku Pérez in a presidential election runoff in Ecuador, according to an official projection by the country's National Electoral Council.
Arauz, 36, came out top with 31.5% of the vote, with Pérez, 51, on 20.04%, following Sunday's polls that were marred by long lines of people waiting to cast ballots as coronavirus restrictions caused chaos.
Right-wing ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, who was initially expected to face Arauz in a runoff, received 19.97%, according to the electoral body's first count.
Arauz, a protégé of former President Rafael Correa, claimed a "resounding victory in all regions of our beautiful country" - although he urged supporters to wait for official results before celebrating.
The projection was based on 90.4% of the results from the nation's 2,425 polling stations. Turnout exceeded 82%.
At: https://sg.news.yahoo.com/ecuadorans-vote-choose-between-socialist-125119005.html
Ecuadorian presidential candidates Andrés Arauz, Guillermo Lasso, and Yaku Pérez.
While Arauz's first round win was widely expected, Pérez confounded polls by edging out right-wing banker Lasso for runoffs scheduled for April 11.
Pérez, a left-wing indigenous rights leader, earned renown for leading protests against President Lenín Moreno - who opted not to seek re-election amid severe recession and what's widely considered one of the world's worst Covid-19 pandemic responses.
Pérez has now become the first self-identified Indigenous Ecuadorian to compete in a presidential runoff - in a country where an estimated 39% of its 18 million population is indigenous.
