There was no scarcity of candidates in Ecuador's presidential elections this past Sunday which had 13 contenders fighting for the people's approval. Not surprisingly, no one candidate was able to attain a majority of the vote and the stage was set for a second round run-off in November between left leaning Rafael Correa and the political right's representative Alvaro Noboa.
Correa was leading the polls before the elections due to his talk of revamping the constitution and overhauling the corrupt and inefficient political system of the country. He also supports policies that worry the Ecuadorian upper-class and Wall Street. For one, he is against a free trade agreement with the US. He is also set on restructuring the foreign debt and has criticized dollarization.
This is Noboa's third try at the presidency of Ecuador. He is amongst Ecuador's richest men as he owns more than 100 companies. Noboa supports free trade with the US and vows that he will seek policies that will create jobs. Yet the people seem skeptical and are concerned that he will enact policies that will benefit only big business and the rich.
The run-off elections promise to be highly competitive as both candidates will accuse the other of being political extremists and will likely confront each others' policies heavily in the media.
Stayed tuned to mifex.org for further updates and coverage of the 2006 Ecuadorian presidential elections.
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