Ione Wells

Thank you for having me.

Thank you for having me.

It has been a bit of a shock result, particularly for the incumbent Daniel Noboa, because electoral authorities here in Ecuador have called this a technical tie after both Daniel Noboa and his main challenger, Luisa Gonzalez, received pretty much identical percentages of the vote. Now, it was expected that it could go to a second round in April, but polls say

It has been a bit of a shock result, particularly for the incumbent Daniel Noboa, because electoral authorities here in Ecuador have called this a technical tie after both Daniel Noboa and his main challenger, Luisa Gonzalez, received pretty much identical percentages of the vote. Now, it was expected that it could go to a second round in April, but polls say

had suggested that Daniel Noboa was significantly ahead. This result is more narrow than expected, indicating that second round could be much harder to call. And certainly the result dashed the hopes of Noboa's supporters, many of whom had been really buoyed by an early exit poll suggesting that he might even clinch victory outright.

had suggested that Daniel Noboa was significantly ahead. This result is more narrow than expected, indicating that second round could be much harder to call. And certainly the result dashed the hopes of Noboa's supporters, many of whom had been really buoyed by an early exit poll suggesting that he might even clinch victory outright.

I spoke to some of the supporters of Daniel Noboa, some of whom are... frustrated that he hasn't won this outright, but hopeful that he may well clinch victory in the second round.

I spoke to some of the supporters of Daniel Noboa, some of whom are... frustrated that he hasn't won this outright, but hopeful that he may well clinch victory in the second round.

He's really defined his presidency by this tough crackdown on violent drug gangs and criminal activity in the country by militarising the streets, militarising prisons, giving security forces sweeping new powers to try and tackle violence. So when I spoke to some of his supporters, they told me that their main hope is that they want his work in that field to continue.

He's really defined his presidency by this tough crackdown on violent drug gangs and criminal activity in the country by militarising the streets, militarising prisons, giving security forces sweeping new powers to try and tackle violence. So when I spoke to some of his supporters, they told me that their main hope is that they want his work in that field to continue.

So that was one supporter of the incumbent, Daniel Noboa, hoping that he might win in the second round in April. Certainly, as other Noboa supporters have said too, one of the reasons they want him to stay on is because he's only been in office for 15 months so far after his predecessor resigned. resigned. So they feel like he's only really just got started.

So that was one supporter of the incumbent, Daniel Noboa, hoping that he might win in the second round in April. Certainly, as other Noboa supporters have said too, one of the reasons they want him to stay on is because he's only been in office for 15 months so far after his predecessor resigned. resigned. So they feel like he's only really just got started.

As for the opposition, Luisa Gonzalez, her supporters are certainly very excited tonight, given that she seems to have performed better than opinion polls were suggesting. She went into this campaign heavily criticising Daniel Noboa, not only for, in her words, sort of not delivering on promises to tackle violent crime, given it is still such a

As for the opposition, Luisa Gonzalez, her supporters are certainly very excited tonight, given that she seems to have performed better than opinion polls were suggesting. She went into this campaign heavily criticising Daniel Noboa, not only for, in her words, sort of not delivering on promises to tackle violent crime, given it is still such a

not delivering on other issues like tackling unemployment and solving the country's energy crisis too. Her supporters as well felt that Neboa was not doing enough to tackle some of the root causes of crime.

not delivering on other issues like tackling unemployment and solving the country's energy crisis too. Her supporters as well felt that Neboa was not doing enough to tackle some of the root causes of crime.

So that was one of supporters of Luisa Gonzalez, hoping that she will be the one who is victorious come that runoff in April. I think, though, why this election really matters is whoever is successful in April has a huge task ahead of them. Ecuador has gone from being one of the safest countries in the region to one of the most dangerous.

So that was one of supporters of Luisa Gonzalez, hoping that she will be the one who is victorious come that runoff in April. I think, though, why this election really matters is whoever is successful in April has a huge task ahead of them. Ecuador has gone from being one of the safest countries in the region to one of the most dangerous.

In January this year alone, there were 750 homicides in the country. Kidnappings, murders are things that happen daily here. People are really, really worried about their security and want security. desperately for there to be solutions.

In January this year alone, there were 750 homicides in the country. Kidnappings, murders are things that happen daily here. People are really, really worried about their security and want security. desperately for there to be solutions.