Elections in Ecuador: EU mission discards fraud after denunciation of Noboa

Observers highlight transparency and efficiency in the first round, but point out challenges for ballot

Quito, February 12, 2025 – The Observation Mission of the European Union (EU), which watched the recent presidential elections in Ecuador, issued an answer on Tuesday to complaints of alleged irregularities. In a press conference from Quito, the observers indicated that They lack elements about a possible electoral fraud in the process and scrutiny of the National Electoral Council (CNE).

«We do not have a single objective element that indicates that there has been any type of fraud. I reiterate, no objective element that supports this accusation or this narrative, ”said the head of the delegation, the Eurodiputa Gabriel Mato, when presenting an evaluation of the past general elections of Ecuador.

Mato also regretted that at the beginning of the process there was the «narrative» of this alleged fraud by the candidate of the Citizen Revolution, Luisa González, and her surroundings.

The February 9 elections ended with a second electoral round, between Noboa and Luisa González, scheduled for April 13, 2025.

According to Mato, the mission concluded that the first round was developed with transparency, efficiency and peacefully, despite the fears of possible outbreaks of violence in certain areas of Ecuador and the distrust that exists from citizens and political actors towards the authorities of the CNE.

Preliminary statement

European observers clarified that although their mission is not to give value judgments or recommendations on elections in Ecuador, they will leave a series of observations for both the first and the second round, which may or may not be welcomed by the CNE.

Although the agency described, in general, as positive what happened on Sunday, February 9, considers that there are still «pending challenges» that must be evaluated for the ballot of April 13 and in future elections.

The European Union mentioned the «debate that has generated» the decision of President Noboa not to request a license from the assembly during the campaign period and, instead, take brief intervals of time the presidency for proselytizing activities.

This led Noboa to alternate its presence in government acts and campaign activities. «To this has added a certain confusion between the institutional propaganda of the government and that of its party,» says the observation mission.

The European Union also speaks of a visible inequality among the candidates for the presidency on social networks. According to the monitoring of the observers, Luisa González and Daniel Noboa, «the two candidates who invest» on technological platforms were long.

There the observers found shortcomings in the control of electoral spending, because although the candidates should report their expenses in social networks, for the European Union there is no reliable mechanism to verify the declared amounts.