24/08/2023 (Agence Europe) – On Thursday 10 August, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, called for those responsible for carrying out and ordering the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate, to be brought to justice in Ecuador. The EU says it is ready to cooperate with the country’s authorities to combat the increase in violence and organised crime, notably within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in mid-July between the two partners on the margins of the EU/Latin America Summit (see EUROPE 13224/1). On Sunday 20 August, the left-wing candidate Luisa González, the political heir of former president Rafael Correa, won the first round of the presidential elections. In mid-October, she will face the right-wing candidate, Daniel Noboa, son of a national tycoon. The EU has sent three electoral experts to Quito to support the Ecuadorian elections (see EUROPE 13229/22). (MB)