Verónica Abad claims Daniel Noboa, her former running mate, used state power to tilt the vote

Ecuador’s vice-president, Verónica Abad, has accused the country’s president – her former running mate Daniel Noboa – of “violating the democratic code” by using the state apparatus to gain an advantage over the other candidates in the country’s runoff election.

In Sunday’s vote, the rightwing incumbent defeated the leftist Luisa González by a considerable margin after narrowly beating her in the first round.

Although Abad said she did not support the opposition’s claim that electoral fraud occurred during the vote, she argued that the election was unfair because Noboa refused to step down from office while running – as required by the constitution.

Noboa made armed forces central, initially leading to drop in crime but also to surge in reports of rights violations

In an election seen as a referendum on his “war on drugs”, Ecuador’s rightwing president, Daniel Noboa, won Sunday’s presidential runoff, defeating the leftist candidate Luisa González.

With 97% of ballots counted, the incumbent had secured 55.65% of the vote, compared with 44.35% for the former congresswoman.

Leftwing challenger Luisa González in statistical tie with President Daniel Noboa who champions ‘iron fist’ policy

Ecuadorians go to the polls on Sunday in a vote seen as a referendum on a “war on drugs” offensive that has led to numerous human rights violations, as the incumbent Daniel Noboa faces the leftist Luisa González in a tightly contested runoff.

Noboa, 37, edged out González, 47, in the first round in February by just 16,746 votes (0.17%) from a 13.7 million electorate.