At 35 years old, businessman Daniel Noboa will become Ecuador’s youngest president ever.
Luisa González received 47.7% of the vote, while Noboa received 52.3%. She complimented her opponent and accepted her defeat.
The 35-year-old, who belongs to the National Democratic Action party, is the son of Álvaro Noboa, a former presidential candidate who ran five unsuccessful times.
There are just 17 months in Noboa’s term until the next election.
Due to the fact that the current election was called early because departing President Guillermo Lasso dissolved parliament in the midst of an impeachment trial, Noboa will stay in office from the end of November 2023 until May 2025. If he so chooses, he may run for president one more time in 2025–2029.
Start of a “new Ecuador”
Five days before turning thirty-six, on November 25, Noboa will take the oath of office as president.
Noboa addressed his supporters after winning the second round of voting, saying, “Tomorrow we start work for this new Ecuador, we start working to rebuild a country seriously battered by violence, by corruption, and by hate.”
In August, contender Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated, casting a shadow over the presidential campaign in Ecuador, which has seen a rise in gang violence in recent years. He had fought against corruption in his capacity as a journalist.
Due to Ecuador’s proximity to the two countries that generate the most cocaine worldwide—Peru and Colombia—violent crime has also increased significantly, and the country has developed into a centre for drug gangs.
“Tomorrow we start work for this new Ecuador, we start working to rebuild a country seriously battered by violence, by corruption and by hate,” Noboa told supporters after he won the second round of voting.
In August, contender Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated, casting a shadow over the presidential campaign in Ecuador, which has seen a rise in gang violence in recent years. He had fought against corruption in his capacity as a journalist.
Noboa has proposed removing the prison gangs that have been involved in lethal combat within the nation’s jails by transporting some of the most notorious offenders to prison ships off the coast of Ecuador.
In order to obstruct important drug-trafficking routes, he also wants to increase security at Ecuador’s ports and borders. He suggests placing scanners to guarantee more shipments.
Additionally, he has made an effort to win over people by promising to provide job prospects.
