Businessman Daniel Noboa becomes the youngest president in the history of Ecuador

Lasso: "Today we must be proud of the country we are"

González accepts his defeat and congratulates his opponent

Businessman Daniel Noboa, representative of National Democratic Action (ADN), has won the second round of the elections for the Presidency of Ecuador, obtaining 52.3 percent of the votes, according to the National Electoral Council.

Noboa, 35, has advanced by more than 4.5 percentage points over his rival, the candidate of the Citizen Revolution Movement, Luisa González, an ally of former president Rafael Correa, who registered 47.7 percent of the ballots, according to to more than 90 percent of the votes.

The winner of the elections, after learning the results, stated that "your new president starts working tomorrow", while González has accepted his defeat and congratulated his rival, to whom he has offered his support. "Count on our votes in the Assembly (...) for whatever you need, as long as it is not privatizing our resources or making the situation of Ecuadorians precarious," he stated.

"To the candidate, now president-elect, Daniel Noboa, our congratulations because he won in democracy. We have never called for a city to be burned down nor did we come out shouting fraud," he expressed, while adding that "he must fulfill his offers."

Hours before, the 'Correísta' candidate had pointed out that the exit polls "have had serious biases and sometimes malicious errors." "Let's wait calmly and determinedly, the responsible and democratic thing to do is follow the official data, trusting that the popular will will prevail," she said.

For his part, the outgoing president, Guillermo Laso, has congratulated Noboa "for having aspired to serve Ecuadorians from the highest position to which a citizen can aspire" and has invited him to the Carondelet Palace: "It will be a pleasure to welcome you" , he added, while pointing out that they must begin the transition process "from now on."

"Today our country has given you the confidence to lead it, a very high honor in which I wish you the greatest success," he expressed. "Our democracy is becoming stronger," said Lasso.

In turn, the outgoing president has taken the opportunity to thank the Armed Forces and the Police for their work to protect the polling stations and the safety of the population. "Today we must be proud of the country we are. We exercised our right to vote in peace, demonstrating our determination to protect democracy and advance within the framework of legality," he stated.

"And with the same tranquility, the results that have been accepted have been proclaimed, aware that the popular will is what defines the destiny of our country," Lasso stated.

Noboa was the surprise of the first electoral round, in which he was only behind his now rival, who has shown to what extent 'Correism' continues to be a popular current in an Ecuador from which Correa himself remains distant, who lives currently in Belgium and has several pending court cases in the South American country.

These elections have been marked by the rise in violence, attributed to clashes between gangs and extended to prisons, especially during the campaign, marked by the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio during the first electoral round. Both Noboa and González have highlighted in the campaign the interest in combating insecurity.

It should be noted that the mandate of the president-elect will last less than usual, since the outgoing president, Guillermo Lasso, appealed to what is known as 'crossed death' to dissolve the National Assembly and thus avoid the start of a political trial.