Why is this election important?
President Daniel Noboa, who has pledged to tackle the security crisis with an iron fist, is facing re-election after 16 months in office. He is neck and neck with Luisa González, a candidate backed by Rafael Correa, the populist former president.
In the past five years, Ecuador has experienced an explosion in violence linked to drug trafficking. A justice system plagued by overcrowding, corruption and underfunding has become fertile ground for prison gangs allied with international drug cartels.
That has transformed the country from an oasis of peace in a turbulent region to an important player in the global drug trade, wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Ecuadoreans.
At the same time, just 36 percent of Ecuadoreans have adequate employment, according to government data, making the economy a top concern.
Voters are split between Mr. Noboa, who has pledged to crack down on the violence but has so far achieved minimal results, and Ms. González, who is running on a former president’s record but facing a very different country from the one he led.
Who are the top candidates?
Mr. Noboa, a Harvard-educated heir to a multibillion-dollar banana empire, took office in 2023 after his predecessor called for early elections amid impeachment proceedings.
Mr. Noboa first entered politics four years ago, when he ran for a seat in the national legislature. In the 2023 presidential contest, he managed to rise from the bottom of the polls in the first round of voting to second place after a strong debate performance. He then beat Ms. González in the second round.
Ms. González, who served in various positions in the Correa government, is largely seen as the representative of the former president, a divisive figure in Ecuador. Many revere Mr. Correa for the booming economy, low crime rates and investment in health and education that Ecuador experienced under his government, but others revile him for his corruption conviction in 2020 and his authoritarian tendencies.
He also drew international attention when he ordered the police to enter the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest a politician who was facing a prison sentence for corruption. Critics saw the move as a violation of diplomatic norms and an abuse of power.
Yet supporters see Mr. Noboa as a decisive leader who is unafraid to challenge entrenched corruption and bend the rules when necessary. Last year, Ecuadoreans backed his tough-on-crime agenda by voting in favor of a referendum that formally expanded the military’s role in law enforcement.
Although rights groups have condemned his hard-line tactics as excessive and harmful, many voters — even some who oppose him — say they want more action from the authorities, not less. Homicides declined early in his presidency, but soon began rising again.
Mr. Noboa has also sought to cast himself as Ecuador’s best representative on the world stage, emphasizing his ability to build relationships with global leaders, including President Trump.
The Ecuadorean president was one of the few Latin American leaders invited to Mr. Trump’s second presidential inauguration, and recently met with him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida.
“Noboa has really been playing up the Trump card and the relationship with the U.S.,” said Risa Grais-Targow, the Latin America director for Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy.
Ms. Grais-Targow said that Ecuadoreans favored foreign security assistance, making the issue a potential asset for Mr. Noboa. But his effort to court Mr. Trump, she added, “hasn’t really led to any material commitments from the U.S.”
Under Mr. Correa, Ecuador’s ties with the United States were strained. Experts saw his decision to expel U.S. military forces as a setback that weakened border control and made it easier for transnational drug traffickers to operate.
At the same time, the Correa administration managed to reduce the country’s homicide rate, a shift that was credited to a greater police presence and a commodities boom that increased security funding.
Although Ms. González has tried to present a friendlier stance toward the United States, critics remain skeptical.
When will the results be known?
Voting starts at 7 a.m. Sunday and ends at 5 p.m. Results are expected to start coming in around 6 p.m.
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