Ecuadorans Electing New President In Tight Contest

Quito, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 11th Apr, 2021 ) :Ecuadorans began electing their next president on Sunday with voters choosing between a young, socialist protege of ex-leader Rafael Correa and a veteran conservative as the oil-rich country contends with an economic crisis aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Opinion polls have the two contenders neck and neck in a battle for control of the country.

Economist Andres Arauz, 36, is virtually unknown but topped February's first round of voting on the back of support from his mentor, Correa, who led the country for 10 years.

Ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, is a seasoned politician and third-time presidential aspirant after having twice finished second: to Correa in 2013 and Lenin Moreno in 2017.

Polls opened at 7:00 am (1200 GMT) with voting obligatory for 13.

1 million people in the small South American country.

Whoever wins will take over from beleaguered Moreno on May 24 and will immediately face an economic crisis exasperated by a 7.8 percent contraction in GDP in 2020.

Overall debt is almost $64 billion -- 63 percent of GDP -- of which $45 billion (45 percent of GDP) is external debt.

At the same time, the country has been hard hit by the pandemic with hospitals overwhelmed by more than 340,000 coronavirus infections and over 17,000 deaths.

"There are economic, health and government crises at the moment," said Wendy Reyes, a professor and political consultant at the University of Washington.

"Whoever wins will face a completely divided picture."