Noboa says no doubt about his victory in Ecuador vote as rival demands recount

QUITO/GUAYAQUIL (Reuters) -Ecuador's national electoral council on Sunday declared President Daniel Noboa the winner of the country's presidential race, after he held a steady and unexpectedly wide 12-point lead over leftist Luisa Gonzalez throughout the count.

Gonzalez told chanting supporters she did not accept the results and would demand a recount, calling it "the worst and most grotesque electoral fraud in the history of Ecuador."

With 92% of ballot boxes counted, Noboa had 55.8% of votes, compared to Gonzalez's 44.1%, a difference of more than one million votes.

The victory secures the 37-year-old business heir, who has pledged to continue efforts to fight drug gangs and boost the struggling economy, a full four-year term. He was elected in 2023 only to serve out the remainder of his predecessor's mandate.

The results came as a surprise to many after the February first round, where Noboa finished just 16,746 votes ahead of Gonzalez.

Noboa thanked supporters from the beach town of Olon and said there was no doubt about his win.

"This victory has been historic, a victory of more than 10 points, a victory of more than one million votes, where there is no doubt about who is the winner," Noboa said.

The president was winning in several major provinces that he lost in the first round, including the coastal region of Guayas, home to the largest city Guayaquil, and El Oro. He was tallying some 52% in both.

Noboa focused much of his electoral strategy on the seven coastal provinces, increasing military operations against crime and distributing payouts to people affected by an oil spill and small businesses hit by flooding.

In Quito and Guayaquil, Noboa supporters took to the streets, waving Ecuadorean flags and the purple flags of his National Democratic Action party.

Traffic came to a standstill in some parts, with supporters honking and chanting, some even holding cardboard cutouts of their future president.

RECOUNT DEMAND

The national tally showed "an irreversible trend" Diana Atamaint, the head of the national electoral council said in her own statement to the press. "The winning duo is Daniel Noboa Azin and (vice president-elect) Maria Jose Pinto."

Meanwhile, Gonzalez expressed disbelief over the results.

"I refuse to believe that a people would prefer lies instead of truth, violence instead of peace and unity," Gonzalez said in Quito. "We are going to demand a recount and for them to open ballot boxes."

The candidates and Gonzalez's mentor, former President Rafael Correa, had urged some 90,000 polling-place observers to guard against electoral fraud.

Correa, who had previously warned - without presenting evidence - that Noboa would not hand over power if the incumbent lost, said on social media the results were "impossible."

The former president posted an exit poll earlier on Sunday that showed a win for Gonzalez, though another predicted a Noboa victory.

Noboa has been president for just over 16 months.

He says his "Phoenix" security plan, including military deployments on the streets, beefed up port security and increased seizures of drugs and guns, is paying dividends, including a 15% reduction in violent deaths last year.

Murders, gun smuggling, fuel theft, extortion and other crimes carried out by local criminal groups allied with Mexican cartels and the Albanian mafia have spiked over the last five years. Meanwhile, the economy has struggled to recover post-pandemic and unemployment has risen.

Noboa has predicted 4% economic growth this year if his policies - including an increase in tax revenues and some austerity measures - continue and has pledged to boost the oil sector with private investment.

Bonds, which were still pricing the probability of a return to socialist policies, were expected to rally on a Noboa victory, but Gonzalez's challenge could hinder or mute that market reaction.

Ecuador's international bonds are down 19% so far in 2025 but rose 70% at the index level in 2024, with policy changes leading to a program with the International Monetary Fund announced mid-year.

Noboa's party is nearly tied with Correa's Citizens' Revolution party for seats in the national assembly, though neither has a majority, and Noboa is likely to face difficulty passing legislation.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia in Quito; Additional reporting by Yury Garcia in Guayaquil and Rodrigo Campos in New York; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb and Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Mark Porter and Cynthia Osterman)