ECUADOR: Campaigns draw to a close in Ecuador's hotly contested presidential elections

As campaigns draw to a close in Ecuador's hotly contested presidential elections, Ecuadorians are faced with a choice between a Chavez-style anti-U.S. radical Rafael Correa, centre-left Leon Roldos, and banana mogul Alvaro Noboa to lead them out of years of political crisis. But with less than a week to go to the Oct. 15 polls, many Ecuadorians are still undecided and disillusioned with traditional politicians. And in an expression of their desire for change, human rights activists took to the streets of Quito carrying a doll in a coffin representing what they called the "partyocracy". "What we are doing is definitively killing the old one-party domination. It's been 27 years where the traditional political parties have dominated the country and have not allowed for development. Poverty continues, so we want them to die definitively. We are injecting formaldehyde so that this body from the "partyocracy" stops smelling so bad," explained one activist. Three presidents in Ecuador have been ousted over the past ten years, with further protests earlier this year by indigenous leaders threatening the country's vital oil experts. And the man reaping the rewards of this general dissatisfaction is Rafael Correa, currently topping the polls with his anti-U.S. rhetoric and close alliance with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Correa has gained ground as the date for polling draws near, challenging the months-long lead held by centre-left hopeful Leon Roldos. But analysts said Correa may face an uphill battle as political rivals appear ready to throw their support behind Roldos in the second round because they see Correa and his reform message as a threat to traditional political parties. According to analyst Simon Pachano, Roldos looks likely to shore up votes from the Democratic Left party and other sectors, while Correa is profiting from protest votes. "There are various tendencies, not just one, and I think that in the case of Ecuador there are also two leftist tendencies being manifested. One, that of Leon Roldos, is a more moderate left that is garnering votes that have already leaned this way," he said. Pachano added: "If one looks historically, the vote for the Democratic Left and for some other sectors, Roldos own sectors in previous elections, one can see that what Leon Roldos is receiving now is more or less the sum of these tendencies. The phenomenon in all of this is Raphael Correa. He represents a radical leftist tendency, which has managed to mount the great anti-party tide there is now." But on the streets, people are looking for change, and a way out of the country's long crisis. "May they (the politicians) try to rescue human values fundamentally so that a country like ours can emerge from the grave crisis that it finds itself going through," said Marco Proano. Cynthia Viteri said she hoped for peaceful elections and candidates who came through on their campaign promises. "I hope that the next elections take place in normality and that the candidates fulfil what they promised," she said. Correa, a U.S.-educated former economy minister, casts himself as a outsider ready to overhaul what he dismisses as a corrupt political system and dissolve the unpopular Congress, which many Ecuadorians see as inept. Roldos, who has lost some votes because of his ambiguous messages and internal disputes, already has an alliance with the traditional Democratic Left party and has started to ramp up his sluggish campaign. Roldos is seen by many as an experienced politician who could give some stability to a country struggling with political turmoil after three elected presidents were toppled in less than a decade, experts said. But a stability platform may not translate into victory for Roldos, even though Ecuadorians usually have voted for more moderate candidates in the run-off stage of elections. Banana mogul Alvaro Noboa currently trails in the polls, with 21 percent of the vote in the world's top banana-exporting nation. To win on Oct. 15, a candidate needs more than half the votes or at least 40 percent of them with a 10 percent lead over his nearest rivals. A run-off would be held on Nov. 26.

ITN Source | October 10, 2006

Tags:. .stability. .fundamentally. .poverty. .dismisses. .hugo