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Left-winger Correa wins Ecuador
presidency
Leftist candidate Rafael Correa
claimed victory in Sunday's
presidential runoff in Ecuador
after three exit polls and a
quick count of votes showed he
was enjoying a comfortable
majority in the race.
Presidential candidate Rafael
Correa waves to supporters in
Quito, Ecuador, Nov. 26, 2006.
Presidential candidate Rafael
Correa waves to supporters in
Quito, Ecuador, Nov. 26, 2006. (Xinhua/Reuters
Photo)
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The unofficial quick count on
sample votes from 1,607 of all
the 36,000 voting stations
nationwide showed the former
financial minister won 56.3
percent of the votes, while his
major rival, banana magnate
Alvaro Noboa, got 43.1 percent.
It was conducted by the citizens
election watchdog group
Participation Ciudadana, who
said the margin of error of its
count was less than one
percentage point.
Two exiting polls by the
Teleamazonas television and
Participation Ciudadana showed
Correa won 57 percent of the
votes, while Voz y Voto
television's poll gave him 58
percent.
The official result is expected
later on Sunday published by the
Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
"We accept this victory with
dignity and humility," Correa
told a press conference here,
while several thousands of his
supporters gathered outside his
campaign headquarters and
celebrated his victory with
chants and honked car horns
after the exit poll results were
released.
Meanwhile, Noboa refused to
concede defeat and said he would
wait for the official result.
"The electoral tribunal will
give the official figure once it
has finished the vote count," he
told a television interview.
"I have won and I will keep
fighting for the poor from the
presidency," he said, noting he
could demand scrutiny of the
ballots if necessary.
Correa, 43, used to serve 106
days last year as the financial
minister under interim President
Alfredo Palacio. He vowed to
clean up corruption and help the
poor. He said he would reject
the free trade agreement with
the United States (U.S.).
Billionaire Noboa, 56, has
promised closer ties with the
United States and
market-friendly policies in his
third try to win the presidency.
Noting his business experience
ranging from coffee to
construction would help him
manage the economy, he pledged
to build 300,000 low-cost homes
a year and to create jobs by
persuading his rich foreign
friends to invest in Ecuador.
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