Incumbent Daniel Noboa has won Ecuador presidential vote, electoral council says | World News

Incumbent Daniel Noboa has won Ecuador’s presidential race, the national electoral council said, handily beating left Luisa Gonzalez, who has said she does not recognize the results and will demand a recount.
Noboa was holding an unexpectedly wide 12-point lead with 56% compared to Gonzalez’s 44%.
The run-off had been expected to be much tighter, after Noboa finished the February first round with an advantage of just 16,746 votes over Gonzalez.
Story continues below this ad

Supporters of President Daniel Noboa celebrate early returns showing him in the lead in the presidential election runoff in Quito, Ecuador. (AP Photo/Carlos Noriega)
But on Sunday night, with more than 90% of ballot boxes counted, Noboa was ahead more than one million votes.
Gonzalez told chanting supporters that she does not recognize the results and that she would demand a recount.
“I refuse to believe that a people would prefer lies instead of truth, violence instead of peace and unity,” Gonzalez said. “We are going to demand a recount and for them to open ballot boxes.”
The candidates and Gonzalez’s mentor, former President Rafael Correa, had urged some 90,000 polling-place observers to guard against electoral fraud. Correa said on social media the results were “impossible”.Story continues below this ad
Meanwhile Noboa, a 37-year-old business heir, said in remarks from the beach town of Olon that there was no doubt about his victory as he thanked supporters.