Partial recount of Ecuador vote results approved

Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) on Friday approved a partial recount of votes from the disputed first round of the February 7 presidential election. Candidates Guillermo Lasso and Yaku Pérez, who have been in close race for second and the final place in an April runoff, met with CNE officials to call for a recount to remove any suspicion over alleged irregularities.

CNE President Diana Atamaint said all votes in Guayas province would be reviewed as well as 50% of ballots in 16 other provinces. Former banker Lasso, of the Creating Opportunities party, and Pérez, who represents the Indigenous Pachakutik party, have been in a tight battle for the chance to face frontrunner Andrés Arauz in the April 11 runoff.

During Friday's meeting, which was held in the presence of delegates from the Organization of American States, Pérez presented evidence of irregularities during the vote counting process. Lasso was open to Pérez's objections, saying he agreed on the need for transparency, but did not support a full recount.

Preliminary results of last Sunday's vote saw Arauz winning clearly, followed by Lasso on 19.74% and Pérez on 19.38%. As of Sunday, the CNE has 10 days to process the results to finalise the runoff candidates to determine the successor to President Lenín Moreno.