*Over 13 million Ecuadorians to vote on Sunday´s presidential runoff
*Luisa Gonzalez leads electoral polls according to surveys
*Assisted voting for people with disabilities moves forward
*Luisa Gonzalez leads electoral polls according to surveys
*Assisted voting for people with disabilities moves forward
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00And as we are heading into Sunday's electoral ballot in Ecuador, we are going live with our special envoy Jorge Gestoso, who is in Ecuador, to have more details as everything is preparing as we are getting closer to the electoral day.
00:13Welcome, Gestoso. Welcome to From the South. What can you tell us from there?
00:17Thank you very much. We are here in our studios in Quito. We are just about 48 hours away from the clear moment of the runoff in the presidential elections.
00:35And we have the privilege to have with us the political analyst, David Martinez, to put in perspective.
00:45We have seen each other before. We're talking about two months ago.
00:51David, what has changed in the political arena regarding this runoff compared to two months ago with the first round?
01:01Well, Jorge, what we have seen is that polls have tightened. It's been a very tight race from the beginning.
01:10But within the last few weeks or so, the polls have shown that optimism and certain support from social organizations and social bases have widened Luisa Gonzalez's opportunities.
01:27She is right now three or four points ahead in all serious polls and some showing at least five points of advantage.
01:38So there is a slight possibility that she is heading forward towards Sunday.
01:45Well, for the audience who watch us and they are not familiarized with the situation in Ecuador, first round, technical, whatever.
01:55It was a virtual tie.
01:56Virtual tie, 44% each of them.
01:59Third person in the first round, we're talking about Leonidas Isa, who represents an indigenous movement, movement called Pachacuti with 5.3%.
02:12So if you add up 44% plus the 5% of Pachacuti, we're talking about simple arithmetic, we're reaching close to 50%.
02:23And Pachacuti has given the endorsement to Luisa Gonzalez, plus another candidate that was eliminated before, we're talking about Jan Topic.
02:34So basically she is arriving to this runoff with more support, political support than in the first round.
02:42Very much so.
02:44We have seen not only Conalle, which is the largest indigenous group, but other smaller organizations and center-right candidates such as Jan Topic who initially were supposed to support the right wing, but have shown their support for Luisa Gonzalez in the final stages.
03:07We have detected in the first round that all the time, all the voices in different parts of the country repeats, this is an election where the field is not level.
03:22It's not level in favor of the president candidate, because he was president candidate against the Constitution, Daniel Novoa.
03:32For this runoff, the field is still not level?
03:37The field is still not leveled, and it hasn't been for the past eight years.
03:41We have to understand that this election is a referendum, finally, of neoliberal policies that have been in place for the last three governments, with Lenin Moreno, with Guillermo Lazo, and now 18 months with Daniel Novoa.
03:58People have not seen really any betterment in their lives, in the economic situation, in the violence.
04:11This has been the most violent trimester in the history of Ecuador, with 2,500 homicides up until February.
04:20So people have not seen the results of these neoliberal policies, but what we have seen as well is an abuse of power from these elites, oligarchic elites in Ecuador that have taken over the judicial system,
04:40the electoral system, and now we see that they have full support from mainstream media, private media in Ecuador, which has given them a certain advantage towards leading a discourse and engaging in illegal activity, really, towards the elections.
05:03We have to remember that Daniel Novoa, as a candidate, had to request permission to be a candidate to the National Assembly, and he did not do so.
05:15And so he has not been respectful of the institutions and the electoral law, and this has shown that he is willing to break anything towards winning.
05:27And David, finally, we're saying that at 5 p.m., polls closed, and in this country, polls closed, meaning this is the end of it.
05:39At that moment, if there's someone on the line, too bad, should be arriving in the area, but at that moment, the telling starts to count.
05:50When are we going to get the results?
05:52Well, Diana Tamayin, from the Electoral Council, has said that results should be expected around 9.30 in the evening.
06:03On Sunday?
06:04On Sunday.
06:05On Sunday evening.
06:06And this is if it is possible to collect the entire percentage of the votes during that time.
06:18But we now know that if the elections are very close, we don't know what the response will be, either from the Consejo Nacional Electoral or the candidates.
06:31We can expect anything, really. Anything is bound to happen. Both sides have a lot at stake with this election, and there will be people that are not happy with the results either way.
06:48So, would you guess who will win?
06:54I don't dare to guess, but I can say that with the advantage that Luisa has, she probably has more opportunity of winning right now.
07:05The last few weeks have shown that she has broader support, and a few scandals that Norboa has had within the past few weeks have really affected his public image.
07:16And, again, I say, most of this is perception. Most of this is public perception and optimism, and what we have seen is a lot more optimism coming from the Luisa side.
07:29David Martinez, thanks very much for joining us.
07:31Thank you for having me.
07:31We were precisely having the honor to have with us, David Martinez, a political analyst.
07:38We are discussing the scenarios facing the runoff on Sunday here in Quito, Ecuador.
07:45We continue reporting for you throughout the day, and we'll get back to you now.
07:52Thank you, Jorge Toso, for this latest information. Of course, thank you for your special guest for all his inputs hearing from the South.