Lasso blasts Ecuador presidential vote result as 'illegitimate'

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso said that he cannot accept the official figures pointing to victory for ruling-party hopeful Lenin Moreno.

"There is much evidence of irregularities in the electoral process. So we cannot recognize the illegitimate results," the rightist banking magnate said on Twitter on Monday.

Lasso urged supporters of his CREO movement to remain outside offices of the National Electoral Council (CNE) "demanding transparency", Efe news reported.

"We will exhaust all of the political and judicial means, in Ecuador and abroad, to ensure respect for the popular will that asked for CHANGE," he said.

Moreno, a former Vice President and the standard-bearer of the left-wing Alliance PAIS, leads Lasso by 51.16 per cent to 48.84 per cent with 99.06 per cent of the votes counted, according to the latest information from the CNE.

Some 12.8 million voters were eligible to cast ballots in the election to determine President Rafael Correa's successor, who will take office on May 24.

The opposition mayor of Ecuador's largest city Guayaquil Jaime Nebot said that CREO has the right "to demonstrate with documents the harm it alleges".

Moreno, who vows to govern in the interest of all Ecuadorians, expressed gratitude for messages from international leaders congratulating him on his victory.

"Thanks to Latin American President for their congratulatory phone calls and messages," the presumptive President-elect said on Twitter.

--IANS

vgu/