Supporters of Guillermo Lasso protested in the capital, Quito, for a second night on Monday, echoing their candidate’s calls for votes to be recounted. “I’m warning the world that in Ecuador procedures are being violated, and they’re trying to swear in an illegitimate government,” Lasso said. “This is a clumsy fraud attempt.” Addressing a crowd of a few thousand supporters outside the National Electoral Council, Lasso said “We’re not afraid of the miserable cowards who are on the wrong side of history.” The scenes were more muted than protests on Sunday – election evening – when thousands of Lasso supporters chanted “fraud” through the night. Lasso shared images of the protests on his Twitter feed, saying: “All of you are like the majority of Ecuadoreans who voted for a change. Thank you for your support, thank you for your confidence.”
Both Lasso and his leftist challenger, Lenin Moreno, had declared victory in the presidential runoff on Sunday night based on the conflicting results of several different exit polls. But official results released by the electoral council later in the night put Moreno in front. Figures published Monday showed Moreno secured 51.17 percent of the vote compared to Lasso’s 48.83 percent, with 99 percent of ballots counted.
Juan Pablo Pozo, president of the electoral council, confirmed Moreno’s election win in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday. He said the results were “official, irreversible” with 99.65 percent of the votes counted.
Pozo said Moreno won slightly over 51 percent of the vote, compared with 49 percent for opposition challenger Lasso.
Full Article: Ecuador′s defeated candidate Lasso alleges vote fraud, rejects election result | News | DW.COM | 04.04.2017.