Ecuador presidential recount confirms Lenin Moreno victory

A recount of nearly 1.3 million votes cast in Ecuador’s presidential election Tuesday showed no significant differences over previous results handing a narrow victory to Rafael Correa’s handpicked successor. (Photo: Lenín Moreno/Facebook)

QUITO, Ecuador—A recount of nearly 1.3 million votes cast in Ecuador’s presidential election Tuesday showed no significant differences over previous results handing a narrow victory to Rafael Correa’s handpicked successor.

Lenin Moreno defeated former banker Guillermo Lasso by a slightly larger margin than previously revealed but still less than 3 percentage points, according to the recount of about 10 per cent of the votes.

“The recount is over and it has ratified the results,” National Electoral Council president Juan Pablo Pozo announced.

Opposition leader Lasso called for a recount of all ballots filed in the April 2nd election, citing allegations of fraud, but election authorities agreed only to a recount of disputed votes.

Lasso refused to participate in the recount, calling it no more than a show to legitimize a process that has been “anything but transparent.”

The Andean nation’s presidential election was watched closely in Latin America as an indicator of whether the region would continue to shift right after recent conservative victories in countries including Peru and Argentina. It was also viewed as a check on Correa’s “Citizens’ Revolution.”

International observers including the Organization of American States monitored the results on election night and said they found no irregularities, but Lasso’s campaign said they had proof of numerous inconsistencies, including ballots with technical errors and missing information.

With the recount now tallied Lasso has exhausted avenues for challenging the results and Moreno is expected to take power May 24th.