Ecuador votes for next president amid COVID and economic crises

Polls open in Ecuador as left-wing economist Andres Arauz and conservative ex-banker Guillermo Lasso vie for presidency.

Quito, Ecuador – More than 13 million eligible Ecuadorian voters are heading to the polls on Sunday as left-wing economist Andres Arauz goes up against conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso in the country’s presidential runoff. Arauz finished with 32.7 percent of the vote during the first round of the election in February, while Lasso secured 19.7 percent, narrowly edging out the third-place candidate after a recount. Polls opened at 7am local time (12:00 GMT) and will close at 5pm (22:00 GMT).