QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) -- Ecuador's CNE electoral council and international observers on Tuesday dismissed claims of fraud in presidential elections that saw incumbent Daniel Noboa emerge victorious over leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has refused to accept the outcome of Sunday's runoff vote that Noboa won with 55.6 percent of votes cast compared to her own weaker-than-expected 44.4 percent. She had said she would seek a recount, but has not yet made a formal request, according to the CNE.
CNE president Diana Atamaint insisted in an interview with Teleamazonas Tuesday that the process had been "totally transparent." Observers from the Organization of American States and European Union also ruled out irregularities in the runoff round that saw Noboa, 37, declared the winner three hours after polls closed.
It was a "transparent and well-organized electoral day that debunks fraud narratives," EU mission head Gabriel Mato told reporters in Quito Tuesday.
"In a challenging context, the population clearly expressed who should lead the country for the next four years," added an OAS statement.
Both missions expressed concern about fake news and a venomous campaign in what the OAS called an atmosphere of "extreme political polarization."
"Good triumphed over evil, justice triumphed over impunity, and freedom triumphed over oppression," Noboa told supporters Tuesday from the balcony of the presidential palace in Quito.
The CNE will announce the final, official results in the coming days for Noboa to be sworn in on May 24 for a four-year term. In office since November 2023, Noboa has enjoyed a short but intense first stint as president, marked by his war on gangs and a drought-related energy crisis.
He had been elected to complete the four-year term of predecessor Guillermo Lasso, who called a snap vote to avoid impeachment for alleged embezzlement. Now re-elected, Noboa faces a herculean task in uniting his violence-plagued nation, which averaged a killing every hour at the start of the year as cartels vie for control over cocaine routes that pass through Ecuador's ports.
Noboa has received congratulations from several presidents, including Donald Trump of the United States and Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
But on Tuesday, Gustavo Petro from neighbor Colombia -- an ally of leftist Gonzalez -- urged Noboa to release detailed voting results, saying he had received "worrying" reports from Colombian observers.
