Ecuador will elect its new president on Sunday, February 7

As never before in the history of this country, Ecuador will have to choose between 16 presidential candidates. 16? Yes, that´s right! A really big number of candidates.

There is a wide range of personalities amongst the candidates: businessmen, bankers, an indigenous representative, a Church pastor, and even a singer. 

Unfortunately, there is no electronic voting in Ecuador, and since voting is mandatory in our country, all citizens, between 18 to 65 years old, must go to vote on Sunday. However, it is estimated that there could be a lot of absences due to the pandemic.

Special advanced voting taking place at people's homes (Photo credit: CNE via El Universo newspaper)

On Thursday, the voting was carried out in prisons and on Friday some elderly people, or people with severe disabilities, voted at home. This is a special service offered to people who want to vote, but due to different circumstances, they cannot go to the voting locations on Sunday.

Due to the pandemic, the authorities have established some protocols to follow:

• More places have been designated as voting locations. In this way, they want to avoid crowds.
• All people must wear a mask, bring their own pen and their own hand sanitizer bottle
• It´s not mandatory, but it´s a suggestion that people whose identity card ends in an even number, vote in the morning; those with an odd number vote in the afternoon
• It is recommended not to bring children to the voting locations
• Only the person who is going to vote, will be able to enter the voting location

According to the polls, the candidates with the best chance of winning are Guillermo Lasso, who represents the center-right, and Andrés Arauz, who is the candidate of the political group of the ex-president Rafael Correa – defenders of the famous socialism of the 21st century. 

So, Sunday will be a very decisive day for Ecuador. As an Ecuadorian, I can only hope that we all vote with our conscience, and thinking about the future of our beloved country.