In a surprise move, Ecuador’s ruling party, Country Alliance, has called for a recount of the votes cast in the weekend’s presidential election. Its candidate, Lenin Moreno, had won the election by the narrowest margin, with 51.16% of the vote. Moreno is considered the “heir apparent” of previous President Rafael Correa, who has been in office for three terms. For days, Guillermo Lasso, a former banker and Ecuador’s conservative challenger for the presidency, who recorded 48.86% of the vote, has been alleging fraud and vote rigging. Supporters of Lasso’s Creo Suma, or Creating Opportunities, party have taken up his cry. One, a protester named Gustavo Palacio, said:
“We are not going to allow an illegitimate government, this gentleman, Lenin Moreno, who they are proclaiming the president of the republic, we will not let that happen. Because he’s illegitimate. This is all being done through fraud.”
Despite these accusations, the Organization of American States election observers “found no discrepancies between the observed records and the official data”.
Full Article: All sides call for recount in Ecuador’s presidential election | Euronews.