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WORLD NEWS Tuesday 4 april 2017

Leftist claims win in Ecuador election; rival cries foul

GONZALO SOLANO Lasso is from, before riot
Associated Press police before pushed back
QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — protesters with tear gas.
Leftist candidate Lenin But so far he’s failed to pres-
Moreno appeared to have ent any evidence of vote
won Ecuador’s presidential tampering except for a
election but his conserva- single voting act of 248 bal-
tive rival refused to recog- lots from a rural area whose
nize the results on Monday, tally is says was reversed in
calling on his supporters to favor of Moreno when sent
take to the streets to guard to the National Electoral
against fraud. Council’s headquarters.
Sunday’s second-round On Monday the streets
runoff in the Andean nation were relatively calm al-
of 16 million was seen as a though a few dozen Lasso
barometer of whether the die-hards gathered out-
left, which had dominated side the electoral council’s
South American politics for heavily-guarded head-
the past 15 years, could quarters.
stop a string of right-wing Lasso presented his com-
victories across the region. plaints Monday to an elec-
With more than 99 percent toral mission sent by Orga-
of polling places counted, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa, left, and presidential candidate Lenin Moreno of ruling party nization of American States,
Moreno had 51 percent of Alianza Pais, wave to supporters from the government palace balcony in Quito, Ecuador, Mon- which has yet to comment.
the vote while conserva- day, April 3, 2017. Moreno appeared to have won Ecuador’s presidential election but his conser- But several regional leaders
tive banker Guillermo Lasso vative rival refused to recognize the results on Monday, calling on his supporters to take to the offered their congratula-
stood at just under 49 per- streets to guard against fraud. tions and a local electoral
cent. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) watchdog that carried out
Even as leaders from right- said on Twitter. “We will ex- which accurately predict- dence under socialist Presi- a quick count of its own
wing governments in Latin haust all political and legal ed the results of the first dent Nicolas Maduro, a key said Monday that Moreno
America began called channels in Ecuador and round, gave him a victory ally of Correa. had a 1.6 point edge in
Moreno on Monday to of- abroad to respect the will by six percentage points. On election night, thou- their sample, which is con-
fer their congratulations, of the people who called Part of the problem is the sands of outraged Lasso sidered highly accurate.
Lasso vowed to keep up for a change.” opposition’s distrust of the supporters shouting “fraud” Correa accused Lasso sup-
the fight against the instal- Key to Lasso’s challenge National Electoral Council, crashed through metal bar- porters of trying to deny
lation of an “illegitimate” of the results in all of Ecua- which it says has become ricades to almost reach the the results and provoke vio-
government. dor’s 24 provinces was the an appendage of the ex- entrance of the electoral lence. On Monday, he sent
“We’re on the correct side results of three exit polls ecutive in the way the council’s headquarters in a flurry of tweets saying the
of history. We won’t cross that showed him winning. electoral board in Venezu- Quito. Scuffles also broke Lasso campaign had hired
our arms and stand by,” he One by pollster Cedatos, ela has all but lost indepen- out in Guayaquil, where Cedatos.q
11 Indian sailors on small boat hijacked off Somali coast

JON GAMBRELL jackers. negotiate with the pirates mali coast, said Graeme ship common in regional
ABDI GULED The pirates on Monday to secure the release of Gibbon Brooks, CEO of waters, initially was heading
Associated Press afternoon anchored the the crew and the boat, he Dryad Maritime, a shipping from Dubai to Bosaso, So-
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) sailboat on the coast off El- said. Somali pirates often security firm. He said the pi- malia. Malini Shankar of the
— Somali pirates have hur, 50 kilometers (31 miles) release boats chartered by rates were taking the vessel Indian Directorate General
seized a small boat, and its south of Hobyo, which was Somali businessmen with- to the Eyl area of northern of Shipping told the Press
11 Indian crew members, a center of the piracy that out ransom. The attack on Somalia. There was con- Trust of India news agency
and taken the vessel to was rampant several years the small ship happened flicting information over the that the vessel was instead
along the central coast, a ago, said Ahmed Mo- Saturday as the vessel boat’s name and where it heading to Yemen, where
state official said Monday. hamed, an official with the passed through the narrow was heading. a Saudi-led war against Shi-
It is the latest ship targeted Somali state of Galmudug. channel between Yemen’s Brooks said the small dhow, ite rebels holding its capital
by Somalia’s resurgent hi- Local elders are trying to Socotra Island and the So- a traditional wooden sailing has raged for years.q