Ecuador’s president, who unexpectedly surged in the polls to secure a shortened term in 2023, was declared the victor of the presidential election with a decisive lead on Sunday in a race that showed voters’ faith in his vows to tackle the security crisis with an iron fist.
Daniel Noboa, 37, defeated Luisa González, 47, the handpicked successor of former President Rafael Correa.
Both candidates accused the other of electoral violations throughout the election season, and Ms. González said she would not recognize the results of the election, in a speech from the headquarters of her party, Citizen Revolution.
Mr. Noboa celebrated his victory from the coastal town of Olón.
“This day has been historic,” he said. “There is no doubt who the winner is.”
The day before the election, Mr. Noboa declared a state of emergency in seven states, most of them González strongholds, raising fears that he was trying to suppress the vote among her supporters.
Mr. Noboa has positioned himself as a law-and-order president but has so far achieved minimal results in tackling the nation’s persistent drug violence and unemployment.
In the past five years, Ecuador has experienced an explosion in violence linked to drug trafficking. A justice system plagued by overcrowding in jails, corruption and underfunding has become fertile ground for prison gangs allied with powerful international drug cartels.
Mr. Noboa received 56 percent of the vote, compared with Ms. González’s 44 percent, with more than 97 percent of votes counted on Sunday evening, according to official figures.
In a race that was expected to be tight, Mr. Noboa took a decisive lead early in the night. By 8 p.m., hundreds of his supporters were gathered outside of the national electoral council in Quito blowing horns, waving flags and holding the emblematic cardboard cutouts of his likeness.
Mr. Noboa projected an image of himself on social media as the law-and-order candidate, but that posture wasn’t reflected in reality, according to Caroline Ávila, an Ecuadorean political analyst.
Mr. Noboa also sought to cast himself as Ecuador’s best representative on the world stage, emphasizing his ability to build relationships with global leaders, including President Trump.
He first entered politics just four years ago, when he ran for a seat in the national legislature. In the 2023 presidential contest, he managed to rise from the bottom of the polls to second place in the first round of voting after a strong debate performance. He then beat Ms. González in the runoff.
Ms. González, who served in various positions in the leftist Correa government, is largely seen as the representative of the former president, a divisive figure in Ecuador who led from 2007 to 2017.
Junior Yazbek, 39, a car dealership owner, said he had voted for Mr. Noboa because he thought that foreign investment and trade would be higher under his leadership, which he thought were key to boosting Ecuador’s economy.
Luis Cando and his wife, Mónica Sánchez, both 39, said they were planning to vote for Mr. Noboa in part because of the economy, which is worsened by the high crime levels.
José María León Cabrera contributed reporting from Quito.
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