With 99.43 percent of the votes validated, the gap between the president seeking reelection, Daniel Noboa, and Luisa González, of the Citizen Revolution (RC), is getting smaller.
Noboa has 44.16 percent of the votes, while González reached 44 percent.
There are still 132 votes to be processed and another 104 must be reviewed, because they have inconsistencies.
Political organizations, particularly the RC, are awaiting the processing of the data and revealed some inconsistencies in the CNE system on the evening of February 12.
The member of the National Electoral Council (CNE) José Cabrera acknowledged in an interview with a local radio station that during the counting there were technical failures in provinces such as Manabí, where last Sunday there was a 40-minute blackout, but it was due to an internet problem with the provider.
Cabrera mentioned that for the second round of voting they will accept the indications of the observers, including making clear the role of the Armed Forces in the process.
He also referred to the request of observers for the electoral justice to act more quickly and resolve the complaints about infractions and to demand that the parties hand over the funds used for the campaigns.
Among the indications of the international observers is Noboa’s refusal to take leave to campaign and they suggest “that the pertinent institutions, in accordance with the Ecuadorian legal system, make a timely and clear statement.
However, the vice president of the CNE, Enrique Pita, said on national television Thursday that this body does not have the authority to sanction.
When asked if the CNE is the one to rule on the case of electoral licenses, Pita responded that “it is not.”
The electoral process took place amid questions about the president for not leaving office during the campaign period as established by the Constitution and ceding power at times to an official who is not the vice president, Verónica Abad, to participate in proselytizing acts.
At this time there are doubts about how the president will act in the face of the second round, which will take place on April 13 and the campaign will start on March 24.
ef/arc/avr