Daniel Noboa stunned voters in 2023 when he won a snap election for a 16-month presidency after only a brief stint as a lawmaker and with no established political machinery. No longer a political neophyte,

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa won the country’s presidential election on Sunday based on preliminary results, an electoral official said, as his main rival demanded a recount of the vote following a race overshadowed by drug-fueled violence that has consumed the once-peaceful South American country.

The sitting president's challenger in the closely fought race, Luisa González, has claimed fraud without producing evidence.