At a press conference at the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE), Zapata pointed out that around 100,000 government officials will be deployed to provide peace of mind during the elections.

He added that 44 candidates, mostly from the provinces of Esmeraldas, Guayas, Manabí, Cañar and Santo Domingo, requested protection amid the current wave of violence and from which politicians do not escape. Between July and August alone, three candidates for different positions, a mayor and a municipal official have been killed.

The head of the security forces pointed out that three unified command posts will be established at the national level on Sunday to monitor how the voting is going on in real time.

The General of the Armed Forces, Nilo Estrada, informed that from Wednesday at 21:00 hours (local time), the military will be deployed in all electoral precincts to reinforce security four days before the presidential and legislative elections.

National Police General Commander Fausto Salinas noted that the dry law will begin at 12:00 hours on August 18 until August 21 at 12:00 hours.

Authorities recommended citizens to vote in time and, if possible, not to carry backpacks, in order to expedite the review before entering the polling stations.

More than 13.4 million Ecuadorians are called to the polls on August 20 to elect President Guillermo Lasso’s successor and renew the National Assembly (Parliament).

jg/arm/ro/avr