Ecuador's 2025 Presidential Runoff: Comparing Daniel Noboa and Luisa González
Ecuador's 2025 Presidential Runoff: Comparing Daniel Noboa and Luisa González
Voters will decide on April 13 between continuity or a return to correísmo amid security and economic challenges.
It was a tighter first-round vote than expected, but there was no surprise about which two candidates emerged atop a field of 16 presidential hopefuls. Incumbent Daniel Noboa will face off against former Assemblywoman Luisa González in Ecuador’s runoff, scheduled for April 13, in a rematch of the 2023 presidential election.
Despite some polls indicating a possible first-round victory for Noboa on February 9, both candidates earned around 44 percent of votes, with Noboa winning just 19,800 votes more out of the approximately 13.8 million-strong electorate with 83 percent turnout. In third place was Indigenous candidate Leonidas Iza with 5 percent, an important sum of 538,000 voters whom the runoff contenders have set their sights on for the second round. Iza has criticized both candidates and ruled out negotiations for his endorsement while insisting that “not a single vote goes to the right,” which he sees Noboa as representing.
Whoever wins will face a National Assembly largely split between the parties headed by Noboa and González, although both fell short of a majority. In legislative elections also held on February 9, González’s Citizen Revolution party won 67 seats while Noboa’s National Democratic Action (ADN) earned 66. A simple majority in the newly expanded 151-seat National Assembly requires 76 votes. Either candidate will have to forge alliances with smaller parties—particularly Iza’s party Pachakutik, which earned 9 seats—to advance their legislative agenda.
How do the candidates compare on politics and proposed policies? AS/COA Online examines their platforms and track records on key voter concerns including security, employment, energy supply, and more.
February's vote pits President Noboa against a familiar correísta opponent in a context of security, electricity, and employment challenges.
Brookings’ security expert Vanda Felbab-Brown explains President Noboa’s security challenge. Will his Bukele-like hardline approach pay off?
The region’s growth continues to be slow and steady, with positive projections for 2025.
AS/COA covers 2025's elections in the Americas, from presidential to municipal votes.