First Round of Ecuador Elections Sends Two Candidates To April Run-Off

Leading candidates Luisa González (left) and incumbent President Daniel Noboa (right). Source: Dolores Ochoa R / AP

Election day is always accompanied by some apprehension, especially in Ecuador.  In the early February election, the center-right incumbent President Daniel Noboa received 44.29% of the vote, and leftist Luisa González, a candidate representing the Citizen Revolution’s Movement, received 43.85% of the vote. The 14 other candidates in the race ran a significant margin behind them. Both President Noboa and González were unable to obtain a majority of the vote required to win the presidency. 

A run-off election is set for April 13, 2025, and will grant the winner a full four-year term.  These candidates are not new to competing with each other in elections, with both Noboa and González running in a August 2023 in a snap election. In the 2023 election, Noboa won with 52% of the vote, becoming the youngest president in Ecuador’s history, and will remain in office until the April election is decided.

Noboa’s time in office highlighted many of the main issues for Ecuadorians. His presidency sought to tackle alarmingly high rates of gang violence, particularly due to the cocaine epidemic both in Ecuador and neighboring countries. The death toll fell slightly, but there were still 750 homicides reported in January 2025 alone.  

González openly criticized Noboa for his failure to adequately lead the country during his term. Namely, Noboa angered supporters when he passed legislation that led to power outages for 14 hours and utilized the military in his fight against drug traffickers. She also pointed to the increased polarization in Ecuadorian society as a testament to the people’s desire for new leadership. 

González herself does not necessarily embody a change in leadership. Her campaign is heavily influenced by former president Rafael Correa, who led the country from 2007 until 2017. Correa nominated González for the 2023 snap election, despite González’s slim political resume. González associates her policy preferences with Correa’s relatively peaceful presidency and social spending initiatives, often referred to as "Correismo".  

The idea that a González presidency would be a continuation of Correismo both rallied the leftist base and deterred more moderate voters. Some Noboa supporters are voting for him more as a rejection of Correa's presidency, rather than an endorsement of Noboa’s presidency. González is hoping that Ecuadorians remember the positive aspects of Correa’s presidency, not his "authoritarian tendencies" which saw him disregarding the Ecuadorian constitution and overuse of executive orders. He also fled Ecuador so as to not be sentenced to eight years in prison for his corruption charges. 

Despite the insecurity of a runoff election, Ecuadorians are highly involved in their democratic process. Ecuador has a mandatory voting requirement for all citizens aged 18 and older. This election saw an astonishing 83% of eligible voters, 13.7 million people, exercising their right to vote.   

The February election marks the beginning of a highly contested era for Ecuador, regardless of who becomes the next president. The period until the runoff election in April will see an increase in campaigning, with both González and Noboa hoping to reach the small percentage of voters in the middle that will grant them the presidency.