Ecuador election officials have agreed to recount nearly 1.3 million votes as opposition leader Guillermo Lasso continues to allege fraud in the presidential election. The National Electoral Council announced late Thursday it would recount all ballots contested in complaints filed by both parties, about 10 per cent of the total vote. Official results from the small Andean nation’s April 2 election showed former banker Lasso lost by less than 3 percentage points to Rafael Correa’s hand-picked successor, Lenin Moreno. International observers including the Organization of American States have said they found no irregularities, though Lasso claims his campaign found numerous inconsistencies and has refused to accept the official results.
Council president Juan Pablo Pozo said the recount was being conduct for “the tranquility of the country.”
Moreno campaigned on a platform of continuing Correa’s “Citizens’ Revolution,” with adjustments. Lasso put forward a pro-business agenda he said would lift Ecuador’s slumping economy and generate jobs by attracting foreign investment and reducing taxes.
Lasso filed a challenge to the election results Wednesday, demanding a complete recount of every ballot cast. He had not yet responded to the council’s decision Friday, though he warned hours before the announcement he wouldn’t accept anything less than a full recount.
On Twitter, Correa said the electoral council was taking extraordinary steps to “finish at once Lasso’s show, for the elections the banker could not buy.”
Full Article: Ecuador to recount 1.3 million election votes as opposition leader alleges fraud | Toronto Star.