Special general elections were held in Ecuador on 20 August 2023 to elect the President of Ecuador, members of the National Assembly, and to decide on two referendums. The elections were triggered by the invocation of muerte cruzada, which dissolved the National Assembly on 17 May 2023. A run-off election was held on 15 October 2023 to elect the President after no candidate secured the required threshold to win in the first round. Incumbent president Guillermo Lasso was eligible for a second term, but he announced on 18 May that he would not seek re-election in response to his impeachment.
The officials elected—to both the executive and legislative branches—served the remainder of the current presidential and legislative terms (2021–2025), beginning on 25 November 2023. A regular election for a full four-year term happened in early 2025. A national referendum on oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park and a local referendum on metallic mining in the Chocó Andino area were held on the same day. The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio—11 days before the first round—made international headlines.
Advancing to the 15 October run-off, Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Movement secured first place with 33% of the vote, while Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action came in second with 24%. Noboa's second-place finish was considered surprising and an upset, with his debate performance seen as a key factor in his rise in popularity. Noboa ultimately defeated González in the runoff election, securing 52% of the vote, a result similar to Guillermo Lasso's victory in 2021. At 35 years old, he became the youngest president in Ecuador's history.
Background
On 17 May 2023, a day after he presented his defense in an impeachment process against him, President Lasso invoked the muerte cruzada mechanism provided for in Article 148 of the 2008 Constitution to dissolve the National Assembly, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections.
On 18 May, Diana Atamaint, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), announced 20 August 2023 as the tentative date for the legislative election and the first round of the presidential vote. The CNE had until 24 May to finalize the electoral calendar.
On 13 June, Luisa González was en route to register her presidential candidacy with the National Electoral Council with her supporters and president of the Citizen Revolution movement, Marcela Aguiñaga, when they were attacked with pepper spray and tear gas by the National Police. She was treated at a Quito medical center after flushing her eyes from the pepper spray. The National Police claimed to have used chemical agents to protect security and public order because of the hostile behavior of González's supporters.
Less than two weeks before the election, on 9 August 2023, candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated after a campaign rally in Quito at the age of 59. He is the first presidential candidate to have been assassinated in the country since Abdon Calderon Muñoz's assassination in 1978. The assassination of Villavicencio made international news, prompting condemnation of the attack and condolences by foreign countries as well as the Organization of American States, who called for an investigation. He was replaced on the ballot by a fellow journalist, Christian Zurita, keeping Villavicencio's running mate Andrea González.
The general election has been perceived to be largely overshadowed by narco politics and violent crime.
Electoral system
The president is elected using a modified two-round system, with a candidate required to get over 50% of the vote, or get over 40% of the vote and be 10 points ahead of their nearest rival, to be elected in the first round. The president is limited to two consecutive four-year terms.
Members of the National Assembly are elected by three methods. Fifteen are elected by closed list proportional representation in a nationwide constituency. Six are elected by overseas voters (two each from Canada/United States, Latin America/Caribbean/Africa and Asia/Europe/Oceania). The remaining 116 members are elected from multi-member constituencies by closed list proportional representation, with all seats allocated using the Webster method. Members of the National Assembly are limited to two four-year terms, regardless if they are consecutive or not. There are gender quotas for the party lists, meaning there is alternation between men and women. There are no quotas for minority representation.
Presidential candidates
A day after the dissolution of the National Assembly on 17 May 2023, former Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner announced his candidacy for the presidency, with his campaign being endorsed by Actuemos Alliance and the Democratic Left Party. That same day, former National Assembly member and journalist Fernando Villavicencio announced his campaign with the support of the Movimiento Construye Party. On 19 May, President Lasso announced in an interview with The Washington Post that he would not run in the 2023 election. Former Mayor of Guayaquil and 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate Jaime Nebot expressed interest in running under the Social Christian Party; however, the party declined to nominate a candidate and instead endorsed businessman Jan Topić's candidacy on 21 May.
On 24 May, former National Assembly member Daniel Noboa, son of businessman and former presidential candidate Álvaro Noboa, announced his candidacy and was endorsed by the Democrática Nacional Alliance. The next day, former Azuay Provincial Prefect and 2021 presidential candidate Yaku Pérez Guartambel announced his candidacy and was endorsed by the Claro Que Se Puede Alliance and Pachakutik. On 29 May, activist Bolívar Armijos Velasco announced his campaign along with the endorsement of the AMIGO Movement.
On 6 June, President Lasso's party Creating Opportunities announced that they would not endorse a presidential candidate. On 8 June, Quito-based businessman and 2021 presidential candidate Xavier Hervas announced his candidacy and was endorsed by the RETO Movement. On 10 June, the Rafael Correa-funded Citizen Revolution Movement party sought to nominate former Vice President Jorge Glas as their nominee; Glas declined the nomination, however. 2021 presidential runner-up Andrés Arauz also declined to run and instead sought the vice presidential candidacy. The party instead nominated former Assemblywoman Luisa González as its presidential nominee and Arauz as her running mate.
On 13 July 2023, the National Electoral Council (CNE) officially confirmed the eight candidacies of Armijos, González, Hervas, Noboa Azín, Pérez Guartambel, Sonnenholzner, Topić and Villavicencio. The CNE also said that the official campaign period would run from 13 July until 20 August.
On 13 August, journalist Christian Zurita was named as Villavicencio's replacement following his assassination.
Declined
- Andrés Arauz, President of the Citizen Revolution Movement (2020–2021) and 2021 presidential candidate (running for vice president).
- Dalton Bacigalupo Buenaventura, member of the National Assembly (2021–2023).
- Jorge Glas, Vice President of Ecuador (2013–2018) (endorsed González).
- Leonidas Iza, President of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (since 2021).
- Pedro José Freile, Director of the Inter-American Development Bank Ecuador Division (2004–2005), leader of the AMIGO Movement (2020–2022) and 2021 presidential candidate (endorsed Topić).
- Guillermo Lasso, Incumbent president of Ecuador (since 2021) and founder of CREO.
- Eduardo Maruri, businessman, member of the Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly (2007) and president of Barcelona S.C. (2007–2010) (endorsed Sonnenholzner).
- Jaime Nebot, Mayor of Guayaquil (2000–2019), member of the National Congress (1990–1992, 1998–2000), Governor of Guayas Province (1984–1988) and 1992 and 1996 presidential candidate (party endorsed Topić).
- Salvador Quishpe, member of the National Assembly (2021–2023), Provincial Prefect of Zamora-Chinchipe Province (2009–2019), member of the National Congress (2003–2008).
- Carlos Rabascall, journalist and 2021 vice presidential candidate.
Aftermath
First round
On 20 August, Luisa González advanced to the run-off election after finishing in first place, winning 33% of the vote. Her first-place finish was predicted. She was noted by commentators as a protege to former President Rafael Correa. Also advancing to the run-off was businessman Daniel Noboa, whose second-place finish was seen as a surprise as his polling numbers were low in the days before the election. His debate performance days before the election was seen as a key factor in his second-place finish. Violence, political stability and the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio were heavily noted a key factors for voters. If González would have been elected, she would have been the first woman to be elected president. In contrast, if Noboa was elected, he would be the youngest president in Ecuador's history, at 35 years old when he took office.
In the National Assembly, the Citizen Revolution Movement won the most votes, coming in the first place at nearly 40% of the popular vote. In second place, Villavicencio's Movimiento Construye won 20% of the popular vote. Also on the ballot were votes on a referendum on oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park and a local one on metallic mining in the Chocó Andino. Voters voted to approve both measures, banning both oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park, and metallic mining in the Chocó Andino.
During the first round of the election, the overseas votes had several complications and a final count could not be established. Several citizens criticized the delay in counting overseas ballots with the Organization of American States vowing to assist in addressing the problem. CNE President Diana Atamaint said that the delay in counting the oversea ballots were attributed to "cyber attacks" and that new security measures were being implemented to deter further attacks. Demonstrations were held both outside the CNE headquarters in Quito and in several cities abroad, demanding a repeat vote. As a result, on 25 August, the CNE decided to annul the results of the oversea ballots, ordering a repeat of the legislative votes on the day of the runoff.
Second round
González, the runner-up in the second round of the presidential election, conceded to Noboa, saying "the candidate they [Noboa's voters] chose has won and as Ecuadoreans we also embrace them". At age 35, Noboa became the youngest person elected to the presidency. Following his victory, Noboa thanked voters for believing in "a new political project, a young political project, an improbable political project". He vowed "to return peace to the country, to give education to the youth again, to be able to provide employment to the many people who are looking for it".