We now go live with our colleague Jorge Gestoso to bring us what we can expect in Ecuador presidential runoff.
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00:00Let's now welcome once more our special colleague, Jorge Gestoso, who is in Ecuador to bring us all the details from Ecuador and what can we expect.
00:08Hello Jorge, welcome again to From the South. What can you tell us at this hour in Ecuador?
00:15At this hour the situation is running against the clock because at 7 in the morning the polls are going to be opening
00:24and the state of exception has been decreed by President Novoa early this morning in seven provinces of the Ecuadorian territory
00:35including the larger cities and including areas where the voters are more inclined to vote for the candidate Luisa Gonzalez.
00:46That is being interpreted as a resource trying to influence the voting in these areas.
00:55Supposedly the excuse is there is an increased level of insecurity and crimes rampant and therefore they want to assure that the situation is under control.
01:09The other side of the coin is as I mentioned that President Novoa is trying also to play that card
01:15and is going to be absolutely criticized for that.
01:20In another area the National Electoral Council has decreed that Ecuadorians living in Venezuela are not going to be able to vote.
01:31They are not going to be able to vote because the excuse is they don't have the resources to hire all the personnel necessary to implement the voting in the country.
01:44Therefore Ecuadorians living in several parts of Venezuela but mostly the votes were going to be in Caracas are really protesting that decision because again they believe that is a way that they are trying to play the votes to eliminate the possibility that those votes go for Luisa Gonzalez.
02:09In another area the network CBS News in the US were publishing notes and they are mentioning or talking about what they call US intelligence without mentioning more than that.
02:28U.S. intelligence says that U.S. intelligence says that U.S. intelligence prefer Daniel Novoa to win the election because they quote unquote several things in common that they have with his government.
02:43And of course along that situation and on that note they start to discredit the candidate his rival we're talking about Luisa Gonzalez because they are mentioning the former president Rafael Correa that he has created he has governed the country for 10 years.
03:05leader of 10 years 2007-2017.
03:06In the 1717-17 they call that movement El Correaismo and they say that Luisa Gonzalez is the one who inherited that Correaismo.
03:17that Koreyismo, but they tried to point in dirt in Korea saying that in that wire that
03:28President Correa is a friend of Russia to create fear, which is a lie.
03:34Also they say in the wire that Luisa Gonzalez has been financed by President Nicolás Maduro,
03:43which is also a lie. And also they mentioned that President Novoa will be also ready to
03:53help to install a military base in the territory of Ecuador that is not being precisely where
04:01they could be the Galapagos Island or could be other places. So they try to portray what
04:08they call the U.S. intelligence as President Novoa, as a friend of the U.S. and in the
04:17case of Luisa Gonzalez, someone who really is the bad situation, the bad call. It's also
04:28important to see that the reaction of what happened in Venezuela, that they do not let the Ecuadorians
04:35living in Venezuela to vote has created repercussions all over the world because in terms of figures,
04:42we're talking about 450,000 Ecuadorians living overseas outside of the country. Not necessarily
04:50all of them are inscribed to vote, but definitely that could create an impact in the elections and
04:58that is being watched very closely in terms of if that situation is not going to be repeated
05:06in another place. It's mostly the U.S. and Spain are the two countries where most of the Ecuadorians
05:14in exile live. So we're talking about also what is going to go on the air tomorrow. Seven o'clock, the polls open.
05:205 p.m. the closing of the polls. And in this country by 5 p.m. the polls close and there's no extension
05:34if someone is not arriving on time. They are not waiting online to vote. Definitely it's closed. And the National
05:42Electoral Council anticipates that by 9 p.m. they could have an irreversible trend of who could be the winner.
05:53We'll get back to you now.
05:55There's also a quick question. Is there a growing concern maybe in the country that with all these
06:00decisions that are being taken this Saturday, first with the extent of exemption, now with Ecuadorians
06:05abroad that cannot vote in certain countries? Do you believe that people are maybe concerned that the
06:11current executive is trying to control the outcome of tomorrow's election?
06:18I hear you pretty badly. So I'm guessing what I think that I hear that I understand that you are asking me
06:28if there's concern and that situation of Ecuadorian voters living overseas cannot vote is creating concern,
06:37is creating disgust and is creating the perception that here is smelling the word that they want to pronounce it,
06:49that is fraud. And they believe that even though most of the polls show the candidate
06:57Luisa Gonzalez, the challenger to win in terms of votes, the fear is that could be fraud on the air in order of
07:08President Candidate Daniel Lagoa to stick on the power.
07:14Thank you, Jorge Estoso, for the latest inputs coming from Ecuador. We're going to be in touch on
07:19the upcoming news brief to have the latest.