Eight candidates register for Ecuador’s snap presidential election

Eight different presidential candidates have signed up for the upcoming August 20 election in Ecuador, which was called after President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the opposition-dominated Assembly for the price of also ending his term early (but avoiding impeachment).

Candidates had up until June 13 to register with the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE). A final list of candidates will be presented on August 6 after a verification process, according to the official electoral calendar. 

Besides voting for a new president, Ecuadorians are also going to the polls to renew all 137 seats of the National Assembly. All terms will last until May 2025, when President Lasso’s mandate was originally set to expire.

With neither Mr. Lasso nor members of his conservative CREO party taking part in the upcoming vote, eyes are on former President Rafael Correa’s Citizen Revolution movement. Mr. Correa, who in 2020 was sentenced by an Ecuadorian court to eight years in prison for corruption charges, currently resides in Belgium with asylum status. 

He claims the case is all part of a “lawfare” scheme to keep him out of power, comparing his conviction to that of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2018 (which was later quashed by Brazil’s Supreme Court).

Representing Mr. Correa’s leftist party is Luisa González, a 46-year-old lawyer who served as a lawmaker until the recent dissolution of the Assembly. The race’s only female candidate, Ms. González played important roles in the former Citizen Revolution administration and could be Mr. Correa’s key to returning as a candidate in 2025, since she is eyeing rewriting the Constitution if elected. 

The list of names also includes Otto Sonnenholzner, Ecuador’s vice president between 2018 and 2020, and businessman Jan Topic, who will run for the conservative Social Christian Party (PSC) and promises to confront the country’s soaring levels of violence, one of the most important topics for voters, analysts say. 

Last but not least, the presidential hopefuls included indigenous leader Yaku Pérez, a surprise name who finished third in the 2021 elections. Mr. Pérez will now represent a broader coalition transcending the indigenous Pachakutik party, which will support his bid.

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