– Tomorrow we start work for a new Ecuador, Noboa told his supporters after the victory was clear. We will rebuild a country that has been torn apart by violence, corruption and hatred, he said. Right-wing Daniel Noboa is the son of Ecuador’s richest man, Álvaro Noboa. He has built his fortune on banana exports. The fact that the son made it to the final round at all was the election’s big surprise. Opponents congratulated Luisa Gonzalez waves to her supporters after acknowledging defeat Photo: Reuters Noboa (35) led with over 52 percent of the vote when close to 90 percent of the votes had been counted Sunday evening local time. Then his only opponent in the decisive round, leftist Luisa González (45), conceded defeat and congratulated him on his victory. The victory has also been confirmed by the country’s electoral commission (CNE). González was formerly an ally of ex-president Rafael Correa and held several positions in his government. She received the most votes in the first round of elections and led in the opinion polls before the second round. Strong wave of violence The two polling stations have been guarded by a police and military force of around 100,000 service personnel. The country is experiencing a strong wave of violence, and in August the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed at an election rally. Both presidential candidates also wore bulletproof vests on Sunday and were surrounded by security guards when they voted. But the president of the country’s electoral commission, Diana Atamint, could report when the polling stations closed on Sunday that no major incidents of violence had been registered. – Today, Ecuador and democracy have triumphed, she says in a statement. Daniel Noboa celebrates with his wife Angela Valbonesi after the victory was clear. Photo: AFP Violence and cocaine Noboa will be president for 15 months initially. That is the remainder of the term of outgoing President Guillermo Lasso, who resigned and called new elections to avoid impeachment on suspicion of financial fraud. Last year, Ecuador had a record 4,600 deaths as a result of violence. This year, the figure passed 3,500 already in the first half of the year. Many of them are due to conflicts between drug cartels from Mexico, Colombia and the Balkans. Many have also been killed in riots in the country’s prisons. About a week ago, the six Colombians who were arrested and charged with the assassination of Villavicencio were released from prison in the big city of Guayaquil. Smugglers in banana boxes The South American country is the world’s largest exporter of bananas. The problem is that Ecuador is also located between the world’s largest cocaine producers, Peru and Colombia. The smugglers have for a long time hidden cocaine in containers filled with bananas, and caused major problems for the important industry the newly elected president was born into. People in Ecuador have one overriding demand for a new president: Security. The relatively new politician Daniel Noboa now swears to get the country on the right track. In the election campaign, he has promised to create new intelligence units to deal with the gangs, equip security forces with tactical weapons and house the country’s most dangerous convicts at sea on prison ships. – Today we have made history. We will have a country where promises are not forgotten after the election campaign, and where corruption is punished, writes Noboa in a message on X after the victory.
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Banana heir (35) won peaceful elections in Ecuador – the fight against violence and corruption begins – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
