On Tuesday 15 April, MEP Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spanish), who led the European Union election observation mission (EOM) that observed the Ecuadorian presidential elections, said that Ecuadorians had expressed their will “freely” and “loud and clear” in the second round of voting. The incumbent president, Daniel Noboa, won this round by a wide margin with 55% of the vote, against his rival Luisa González (44%), who was supported by the far-left former president, Rafael Correa.
Mr Mato criticised those who had tried to “create uncertainty among the population” by alleging “massive and systemic fraud”. In his view, there are shortcomings in the electoral process that need to be corrected, but these are not such as to call into question the outcome of the election.
In its preliminary statement published on Tuesday, the EOM noted that “disinformation campaigns were widespread across all monitored online platforms, frequently amplified through paid advertisements and bot farms”. The report adds that “the use of AI-generated content increased throughout the election campaign, often as a format for disinformation and personal attacks against candidates”, noting the absence of a mechanism to control party spending on social networks.
The EOM also observed that the public media “consistently” gave Mr Noboa “extensive positive coverage” (double the coverage given to Ms González).
In the Ecuadorian parliament, neither Mr Noboa’s nor Ms González’s party has a majority.
See the statement of the EU election observation mission: https://aeur.eu/f/gg6 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)