Ecuador’s presidential campaign kicked off on Sunday, with the election scheduled for February.

Sixteen candidates are running, including Luisa González (left), who faced Noboa in the second round of early elections in 2023, and Leonidas Iza, head of Ecuador’s largest indigenous organization.

Campaigning ends at midnight on February 6, three days before the vote.
The National Electoral Council called on the candidates to show “tolerance” and “mutual respect”.
Noboa leads the race with 33 percent of the vote, despite drug-related violence sowing fear among the population and a severe drought that has led to three consecutive months of 14-hour power cuts.