Ecuador's presidential race heads for runoff

A banana magnate and a leftist economist will head to a Nov. 26 runoff after neither won an outright victory in Sunday's presidential race in Ecuador, according to the preliminary results.

Alvaro Noboa, Ecuador's richest man, garnered 26.67 percent of the 70.43 percent ballots counted, and his closest contestant Rafael Correa got 22.52 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said.

Under Ecuadorean law, candidates need more than 50 percent of the votes or 40 percent of votes with a 10-percentage point advantage over the nearest rival to win the presidency.

Noboa, 55, would have to win approximately 80 percent of all remaining uncounted ballots to emerge as the winner in the first round. A Nov. 26 runoff had been expected as it appeared almost impossible for such an outcome.

Correa, 43, who has a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois, has said he opposes a free-trade pact with the United States and has also vowed to renegotiate oil contracts to get more profits for his country.

The presidential race kicked off in Ecuador on Sunday morning, and over 9.1 million voters cast their ballots in nearly 370,000 polling stations,to choose a president, out of 13 candidates running for the post.

Source: Xinhua