Ecuador recount confirms Lenín Moreno won presidential poll

Officials of the National Electoral Council (CNE) participate in the recounting of votes of the second round of the last presidential elections in Quito, Ecuador, on 18 April 2017.EPA

More than 1.2 million votes were recounted

Following a recount of almost 1.3 million votes in Ecuador, the electoral council has confirmed left-wing candidate Lenín Moreno as the winner of the presidential poll held on 2 April.

The recount slightly boosted Mr Moreno's margin over his conservative rival, Guillermo Lasso.

Mr Lasso had demanded a full recount citing allegations of fraud but the national electoral council only agreed to a recount of 10% of the votes.

Mr Moreno will be sworn in on 24 May.

Increased lead

The National Electoral Council said that following the recount Lenín Moreno had increased his lead over Mr Lasso by 0.01 percentage points.

AFP

Mr Moreno will be sworn in on 24 May

Mr Moreno won with 51.16% against Mr Lasso's 48.84%, National Electoral Council President Juan Pablo Pozo said.

Mr Lasso dismissed the partial recount as a "show" and a "manoeuvre" by the governing party of Mr Moreno "to legitimise a process which has been less than transparent".

But monitors from the Organization of American States said they considered "a recount of this magnitude and under these norms to be an exercise in transparency".

Mr Lasso said he would give a news conference on Wednesday to announce how he will proceed next.

Mr Moreno will take over from President Rafael Correa, who has been in power since 2007.

He is expected to continue many of his predecessor's policies, including allowing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to remain at the Ecuadorean embassy in London.

Mr Lasso had said that if he was elected he would kick out Mr Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorean embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden.

Who is Lenín Moreno?

  • 63 years old, left-wing, former vice-president

  • Close ally of outgoing President Rafael Correa

  • Became paraplegic after being shot in the back after being robbed in 1998

  • Wants to increase employment opportunities and give all Ecuadoreans the chance to go on to higher education

  • Has written books with titles such as "Being Happy is Easy and Fun"

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