The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) indicated in a statement that, following the runoff election to elect the Ecuadorian president on April 13, it is following the developments with “close attention and great concern.”

The bloc referred to “the numerous irregularities that affected the outcome of the elections in Ecuador and the resulting allegations of fraud in that process, an unprecedented event in this country.” It denounced that the elections were held under a state of emergency, declared 24 hours before the elections, which “applied precisely in the provinces where the Ecuadorian opposition has maintained historic popular support.”

The statement noted that the intimidating military presence at polling stations and voting centers was evident and extended throughout the country, while “some international observers and observers reported feeling pressured by official authorities.” It also stated that amid this repressive climate, days and hours before the election, “arbitrary arrests were recorded, accompanied by the open persecution of Ecuadorian opposition leaders.”

The Bolivarian Alliance pointed out that in order to inflame the situation, the Ecuadorian government hired the services of a notorious US mercenary and his team, experts in military and psychological violence, to intimidate the electorate. It also detailed that international observers officially reported that the electoral contest took place under “unfair conditions, with misuse of state institutions and resources, with last-minute rule changes in crucial organizational aspects,” which “generated distrust and uncertainty in the electoral process.”

Commenting on pre-election opinion polls and the majority of exit polls conducted last Sunday, the ALBA-TCP stated that they “foreseen a close race and predicted a possible victory for candidate Luisa González of the Citizens’ Revolution party.” However, surprisingly, this “was not reflected in the official results presented, which, on the contrary, appear unsustainable,” it said.

The Ecuadorian National Electoral Council reported that current president Daniel Noboa garnered 55.83 percent of the vote, defeating Luisa González, who obtained only 44.17 percent, a difference of just over 10 percent.

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