Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa claimed, without evidence, that the first round of the country’s presidential race was rife with “irregularities” after he made it to the second round vote in April with a slim lead,

Noboa, first elected in 2023 to finish out his predecessor's term, says his deployment of the military on the streets and within prisons, among other measures, has reduced violent deaths by 15%, led to a drastic fall in prison violence, and facilitated the capture of major gang leaders.

Noboa's blend of populist bravado, aggressive security policies and alignment with Trumpian politics has positioned him, at 37, as a formidable figure in a changing Latin America.

Ecuador's presidential election will go to a second round after a closely contested first-round result failed to produce an outright winner. The electoral authorities called it a "technical tie" after the incumbent centre-right candidate,

The Latin American country’s incumbent centre-right leader Daniel Noboa faces a tight race against left-wing challenger Luisa González.

Ecuador's closer-than-expected presidential election is likely headed for an April runoff between two very different candidates who have faced each other three times already.