Quito: Ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno was declared the winner of Ecuador's presidential runoff on Monday, delivering a major setback to a recent right-ward surge in Latin American politics and providing continuity to President Rafael Correa's "Citizens' Revolution".
But his rival, conservative banker Guillermo Lasso, has yet to concede defeat and demanded a recount after three exit polls showed him winning, setting the stage for protests and charges of election fraud in this historically turbulent Andean nation.
"We're not fools, nor are the Ecuadorean people," Lasso said on Twitter, hours after claiming victory based on the exit polls results. "We will act democratically and with respect for authorities but firmly to defend the will of the people."
With more than 94 per cent of voting acts counted, the National Electoral Council said Moreno beat Lasso 51 per cent to 49 per cent.
Thousands of outraged Lasso supporters shouting "fraud" broke through metal barricades and almost reached the entrance of the electoral council's headquarters in Quito before being pushed back by police.
A similar scuffle took place outside the electoral offices in Guayaquil, where Lasso voted. Moreno supporters celebrated and accused their opponents
of trying to disavow results. The head of the electoral council, a favorite punching bag of the opposition, appealed for calm.
"Ecuador deserves that its political actors show ethical responsibility in recognizing the democratic will expressed by the people at the voting booths," said National Electoral President Juan Pablo Pozo. "Not a single vote has been given or taken away from anyone."
Three exit polls, including one that accurately predicted the first-round results, showed Lasso winning by as much as six percentage points.
A quick count of voting acts by a respected local watchdog found there was a technical tie with a difference of less than 0.6 percentage points separating the two candidates.
The group refrained from saying which candidate had the advantage. "The moral fraud of the right-wing won't go unpunished," Correa said on Twitter, referring to what Moreno called misleading exit polls that had "lied" to his rival.
Earlier, a jubilant Lasso claimed victory and told supporters in Guayaquil that he would free political prisoners and heal divisions created by 10 years of iron-fisted rule by Correa.
Before the election, he said he would evict WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorean embassy in London within 30 days of taking office while Moreno has said he will allow him to stay.
