2021 Ecuadorian general election

The previous Ecuadorian general election, on 19 February 2017 (alongside a referendum on tax havens)[6] saw voters elect a new president and National Assembly. Incumbent President Rafael Correa, of the PAIS Alliance, had already served two terms and was ineligible for reelection. In the first round of presidential elections, PAIS Alliance candidate Lenín Moreno received 39% of the vote. Although he was more than 10% ahead of his nearest rival, Guillermo Lasso of the Creating Opportunities party, he was short of the 40% threshold required to avoid a run-off, and a second round was held on 2 April.[7] In the second round Moreno was elected president with 51.16% of the vote;[8][9] the National Electoral Council announced on 13 April that it would recount all ballots contested by both parties (accounting to about 10% of the total vote),[10] after which Moreno was awarded an additional 1,594 votes and retained his majority.[11]

The president will be elected using a modified two-round system, with a candidate required to get over 50% of the vote, or get over 40% of the vote and be 10% ahead of their nearest rival to be elected in the first round.[12] The president is limited to two consecutive four-year terms.[13]

Members of the National Assembly are elected by three methods. Fifteen are elected by closed list proportional representation in a nationwide constituency. Six are elected by overseas voters (two each from Canada/United States, Latin America and Asia/Europe/Oceania). The remaining 116 members are elected from multi-member constituencies by closed list proportional representation, with all seats allocated using the Webster method.[14][15] Members of the National Assembly are limited to two four-year terms, either consecutive or not. There are gender quotas for the party lists, meaning there is alternation between men and women. There are no quotas for minority representation.[13]

Alongside the presidential and legislative elections, a referendum will be held in the city of Cuenca, asking voters whether to prohibit mining near 5 different rivers to protect the ecosystem. The voters are asked to answer yes or no to prohibit mining in each area. [1][16]

On 18 August 2020, the political coalition Unión por la Esperanza (UNES), comprising the Centro Democrático and Fuerza Compromiso Social parties, announced that its presidential candidate would be Andrés Arauz, an economist, former Minister of Knowledge and Human Talent (from 2015 to 2017), and "largely unknown" political figure.[17] Arauz's running mate was to be Rafael Correa, former president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017;[18] However, Correa's acceptance of the vice presidential position on the ticket was rejected by Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE), as Correa had been convicted for corruption.[19] Carlos Rabascall Salazar was then selected as Arauz' running mate.[20] Arauz has promised to scrap the current IMF austerity plan approved by the incumbent president, claiming it will undermine Ecuadorian families and growth and that it has been overly favorable to creditors. He wants to continue making debts payments to bondholders but says that public spending would take priority. He wants to respect existing mining concessions, but would seek greater community participation and conduct reviews of compliance with environmental and investment plans.[21] Arauz has also promised to give 1 million families $1000 in the first week of office. [22] He has also proposed transforming the current extractivist model towars a model based on the knowledge economy and biodiversity. When asked about decriminalizing abortion, he has stated that he personally believes it should be allowed in certain circumstances, but that a debate about it should be promoted by society. [23]

On 22 August anti-abortion activist Martha Cecilia Villafuerte announced her candidacy as vice-president alongside presidential candidate Gerson Almeida, on the Ecuatoriano Unido ticket.[24]

Pedro Freile Vallejo is the candidate from the AMIGO Movement party, with vice president Byron Solís Figueroa, who accepted his nomination on August 24.[25]

Isidro Romero announced his run as the Avanza party candidate in September.[26][27]

On 8 October María Sara Jijón announced her candidacy as vice president, on the Izquierda Democrática ticket, with the independent presidential candidate, businessman and engineer Xavier Hervas Mora.[28]

On 16 October Carlos Sagnay de la Bastida became the candidate for Partido Fuerza Ec.[29]

Lucio Gutiérrez Borbúa, former president of Ecuador, is the candidate from the Sociedad Patriótica party.[30]

Alianza Honestidad, the coalition of the Partido Socialista Ecuatoriano and Concertación parties, nominated César Montúfar Mancheno, with vice presidential nominee Julio Villacreses Guillém.[31]

The Unión Ecuatoriana candidate is Giovanny Andrade Salvador, whose running mate is Katherine Mata.[32]

Indigneous activist and prefect of Azuay Province, Yaku Pérez Guartambel is the candidate for the Pachakutik party.[33] Molecular biologist Virna Cedeño Escobar decided to accept the offer to be the party's candidate for vice president after first being reluctant. [34] He claims to be from the "ecological left" and giving voters an alternative to the “authoritarian and corrupt left” of former president Correa. He has promised to review the agreements with the IMF, and to not pay any "illegitimate debt", refusing to meet with IMF officials when they visited the country in September. He claims he is open to a trade deal with the united states, and has been critical of China's policies around extractivism and human rights.[35] Pérez has proposed a ban on all mining activity and to limit oil extraction.[22] He has expressed support for allowing abortion in cases of rape or when there are serious risk to the health of the mother or fetus. He has suggested holding a referendum on the issue. [36]

Democracia Sí advanced Gustavo Larrea Cabrera as its presidential candidate, with Alexandra Peralta Marín as vice-presidential candidate.[37]

Alianza CREO-PSC, a coalition of the Movimiento CREO and Partido Social Cristiano parties, advanced businessman and candidate in the previous two elections Guillermo Lasso Mendoza as its candidate, with Alfredo Borrero Vega as vice-presidential candidate.[38][39] Lasso proposes to increase foreign investment and raise oil production. He wants to reform and reduce taxation and provide credit for the agriculture sector.[40] He has also said that he will not disavow the agreement with the IMF and respect the debt restructuring agreed to by the previous presidency, but will not raise the VAT tax.[41] Lasso is a staunch opponent of abortion in all cases and believes in support for human life from conception to death.[36]

Partido SUMA's candidate is Guillermo Celi Santos, with running mate Verónica Sevilla Ledergerber.[42]

Movimiento Construye's candidate is Juan Fernando Velasco Torres, with running mate Ana María Pesántes Salazar.[43]

Juntos Podemos nominated Paul Carrasco Carpio, with vice presidential nominae Frank Vargas Anda.[44]

Party of the incumbent president Alianza PAIS nominated Ximena Peña Pacheco, with running mate Patricio Barriga Jaramillo.[45]