QUITO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Progressive candidate Andres Arauz and center-right candidate Guillermo Lasso will face off in Ecuador's second round of presidential elections on April 11, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on Sunday, confirming the official results of the general elections held on Feb. 7.
"We have guaranteed respect for each vote expressed by Ecuadorans on February 7. We have delivered to the country the official results of the presidential binomial," said the president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint.
On Feb. 7, more than 13 million Ecuadorans voted to elect president, vice president, 137 members of the National Assembly, and five representatives to the Andean Parliament.
Arauz, the candidate from the progressive coalition Union for Hope (Unes) who is backed by former president Rafael Correa, was confirmed as the winner of the first round with 32.72 percent of the vote.
Lasso, a former banker and candidate from the alliance between the Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO) and the Social Christian Party (PSC), obtained 19.74 percent of the votes. He moves on to the second round after a close race against indigenous leader Yaku Perez.
Political experts warn of a highly contested second round between Correa's leftist candidate and the conservative neoliberal right seeking to regain power.
With Arauz's rival on the ballot now clearly decided, the electoral uncertainty that had taken over the country in recent weeks has ended. Enditem
