ECUADOR: Ecuadorean leftist Rafael Correa heads for victory following Presidential run-off election

Ecuadorean leftist Rafael Correa, an admirer of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, was headed for victory on Monday (November 27) following Sunday's presidential run-off after vowing sweeping reforms in the unstable Andean country. Victory for Correa would make him the country's eighth president in just 10 years and strengthen Chavez's drive to challenge United States influence in Latin America by forging an alliance of like-minded left-wing leaders. The U.S.-trained economist who troubles both Wall Street and Washington, Correa said on Monday the vote showed strong support for his proposals, including renegotiating debt and foreign oil contracts, opposition to a U.S. free trade pact and a plan to rewrite the constitution. "I think that having a difference of 800,000 votes is the widest victory margin you could ask for in a second round vote since Jaime Roldos and Sixto Duran Ballen," Correa told reporters in his tropical home city Guayaquil on Monday (November 27). Ecuador's foreign debt fell on Monday after initial election results showed Correa had won 68 percent of the votes while his conservative rival, banana tycoon Alvaro Noboa, had around 32 percent with half of the ballot boxes counted. The partial results may not fully reflect a national trend as officials had yet to count the large Los Rios and Esmeraldas provinces. But three exit polls and quick counts showed Correa with around 57 percent. Tallying the full official results could take until Tuesday. Correa, a 43-year-old former economy minister, wooed Ecuadoreans with promises to thrash the political old guard many blame for failing to combat instability and poverty that afflict more than half of its 13 million population. But the charismatic outsider, who has few backers in the legislature, may clash with Congress over his plans to call a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution as lawmakers move to defend their influence. "The model that is being applied not only in Ecuador, but throughout Latin America, has been disastrous," Correa said. "This neoliberalism has generated unemployment, it has privatized and it has converted into merchandise the fundamental human rights like health, education, and social security. It has made labour conditions precarious and instead of recognizing objectively and honestly that that has been a disaster and searching for an alternative, they insist on more of the same." Noboa's political party has 28 out of the 100 congressional seats and could form a majority alliance in the legislature. Noboa, Ecuador's wealthiest man with holdings ranging from coffee to construction, has rejected the poll results and said he could demand a scrutiny of the ballots if necessary. The Organization of American States (OAS) said the election went smoothly with only minor difficulties that did not affect the vote and its quick count echoed exit polls with Correa ahead. "We declare the electoral process up to this very moment as a valid electoral act and it has not been subjected to fraud. There could have been circumstantial irregularities but they don't effect the final results in any way," OAS representative Juan Jose Viera said. Reflecting investor jitters, Ecuador's debt risk spreads widened 61 basis points to a six-week high of 597 points on JP Morgan's EMBI+ benchmark. Widening spreads reflect lessening investor appetite because of perceived risks to the debt. Correa, who came in second in the first round of balloting, gained momentum in recent weeks after softening his tone. Some centrist voters were worried that his aggressive rhetoric and calls to disband Congress would lead to more instability. Ecuador, the world's top banana exporter and Latin America's fifth largest oil producer, has struggled to regain political calm after three presidents were toppled in less than a decade by congressional and popular turmoil. The last elected president, former coup leader and soldier Lucio Gutierrez, was toppled in April last year after street protesters and a hostile Congress accused him of meddling with the supreme court's independence. The country is benefiting from a flush of oil revenues. But some critics fear Correa's policies might trigger an economic crisis similar to the one that forced a 1999 debt default and prompted the country to accept the dollar its currency.

ITN Source | November 28, 2006

Tags:. .momentum. .electoral. .eighth. .turmoil. .jp