Daniel Noboa Sworn in as President of Ecuador Amid Fraud Challenges

Daniel Noboa was sworn in as the president of Ecuador for the period 2025-2029, in a ceremony held at the National Assembly on Saturday, May 24, despite the various evidence of fraud presented by his rival in the presidential elections, left candidate Luisa González.

Noboa was sworn is as president for the second time and was awarded the presidential sash and the Grand Collar of the Order of San Lorenzo, attributes reserved for the head of state.

The oath taken by the president was followed by that of the vice president, María José Pinto, who replaces Verónica Abad, who had a bitter confrontation with Noboa throughout the latter’s first term, as Noboa had kept her apart from his government and away from the country and even unconstitutionally removed her from her post.

IMPOSICIÓN DE LA BANDA PRESIDENCIAL
El presidente del Parlamento, @NielsOlsenP, impuso la banda presidencial y tomó juramento a @DanielNoboaOk, como parte de los actos protocolares en la ceremonia de investidura. pic.twitter.com/ynrZd699I4
— LaDefensa (@LaDefensaEc) May 24, 2025

In his inauguration speech, Noboa anticipated that he would deepen the principal governing lines of his first term, which lasted only a year and a half since in 2023 he was elected in a snap election to complete the 2021-2025 presidential period that former President Guillermo Lasso was unable to finish.

Noboa declared that he would continue the “war” against organized crime gangs that he launched last year to counter the escalation of criminal violence that has led Ecuador to top the list of Latin American countries in homicide rate, a rate that has even worsened since the beginning of this year, averaging one murder per hour.

Despite the state of emergency decreed by Noboa and the deployment of the Armed Forces in public security tasks, Ecuador has experienced a significant increase in violence in the first quarter of 2025, surpassing 2,360 murders.

This represents an increase of 65% compared to the same period in 2024 and 39% compared to 2023.

Ecuador: Citizen Revolution Criticizes National Electoral Council for Obstructing Fraud Appeal

González and other members of the Citizen Revolution movement, including former President Rafael Correa, alleged a possible fraud in the elections of April, arguing that the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) differ significantly from pre-election polls and polling stations.

They question the increase in Noboa’s votes compared to González’s in the first round, despite the technical tie between the two candidates in the first round and despite González gaining support from more parties in the second round. The elections of 13 April, with a turnout of 83.76%, were held under strong security measures due to the “internal armed conflict” declared by Noboa.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/SC/