Bloody Election Campaign Divides Ecuador

The assassination of Fernando Villavicencio upended the final week of campaigning in Ecuador.

Reports say all eight candidates talked about the need for peace and security, and after an often bloody campaign, that was a message that Ecuadoreans very much wanted to hear.

After Mr Villavicencio’s death, a local politician was killed in the northern Esmeraldas province and many feared more was to come.

According to the report, Sunday’s elections passed off without incident, but no candidate had enough support to avoid a run-off.

That brings yet more uncertainty as campaigning ramps up again ahead of October.

Leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez took 33% of the votes, pledging generous social welfare programmes.

Her victory didn’t come as a surprise as she was always the frontrunner.

BBC