The ABC of the 2021 general elections in Ecuador

Ecuador has never had so many candidates on the presidential ballot 3:46

(CNN Spanish) -

Thirteen million will go to the polls this February 7 for the general elections in Ecuador in which 144 authorities will be elected, including president and vice president, representatives to the Andean parliament and assembly members.

The elections this Sunday will be accompanied by 2,540 national electoral observers as well as some 260 international observers, according to the National Electoral Council.

It is the first election of 2021 in Latin America and the Caribbean in times of pandemic and economic collapse.

In this election, the country faces the dilemma of returning to the ideas of former President Rafael Correa or maintaining the current guidelines of President Lenín Moreno to alleviate the crisis through multi-million dollar agreements with international organizations.

This is what you should know about these elections.

The candidates

This is a historic election not only because of the challenges posed by the development of elections in the midst of a pandemic, but also because of the number of candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency.

Sixteen presidential teams participate in the electoral contest in Ecuador, an unprecedented number in the country's elections.

This proliferation of candidates means that very few have options to reach a second electoral round.

The lack of agreements between the political forces would be one of the reasons for this scenario that could subtract votes from the most favored candidates.

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The first round will be on February 7.

And in the event that no candidate wins the elections in the first round with 40% of the valid votes or a difference greater than 10 percentage points over the second, there will be a second round on April 11 between the two most voted pairs.

The inauguration ceremony of the successor of President Lenín Moreno is scheduled for May 24, 2021.

• See here the profiles of the candidates

Keys on the elections in Ecuador

Voting in Ecuador for young people between the ages of 16 and 17 and those over 65 is voluntary, also called optional voting.

But for those over 18 years of age it is mandatory and not doing so implies a financial fine.

The country has just over 633,000 voters between the ages of 16 and 17.

More than 1.6 million voters over 65 and 10.8 million voters between 18 and 65, according to the CNE.

In the country, 2,036 electoral zones are enabled in the national territory and 101 electoral zones abroad, according to the CNE.

This is played in the presidential elections of Ecuador 2:41

Biosecurity measures

The authorities established biosecurity protocols to prevent the spread of covid-19.

Among them is an established voting schedule, in which people whose ballots that end in an even number must go to the voting centers between 7 a.m. and 12 p.m. Those who have an odd-numbered ballot must vote throughout the country between 12 and 12 p.m. 5 PM

The CNE established several biosecurity measures for election day:

The voter must go unaccompanied to their polling place

Maintain physical distance of two meters between people

Wear masks correctly and consistently when arriving at the voting centers

Disinfect your hands with 70% alcohol gel

It is recommended that you bring a blue or black ink pen.

Ecuador Elections