Ecuador Opens Polls for Presidential Election

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - Voting has begun in Ecuador's presidential election on Sunday, with eight candidates running and only five projected to advance to the second round, according to pre-election polls.

Pollsters have put left-wing politician Luisa Gonzalez as the frontrunner, followed by former Ecuadorian President Otto Sonnenholzner and Indigenous candidate Yaku Perez. Other candidates include Christian Zurita, who replaced assassinated candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and Jan Topic, who claims to have fought in Syria, Africa and Ukraine.

The election is being held under a state of emergency that was declared after Villavicencio, an investigative journalist, was gunned down at a campaign rally on August 9.

To win in the first round, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of votes or more than 40% of the votes, provided that their lead over the nearest rival is at least 10%. If this does not happen, there will be a second round scheduled for October 15.

Ecuador's new president will only serve until new elections are held on May 24, 2025. In mid-May of this year, Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso issued a decree dissolving the parliament, which initiated impeachment proceedings against the head of state. New presidential elections have been announced following the impeachment.