1998 Ecuadorian general election

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1998 Ecuadorian general election
Flag of Ecuador.svg
  1996
2002  
Presidential election
31 May 1998 (first round)
12 July 1998 (second round)
  JamilMahuad.jpg Alvaro Noboa.jpg
Nominee Jamil Mahuad Álvaro Noboa
Party Popular Democracy PRE
Running mate Gustavo Noboa Alfredo Castillo
Popular vote2,243,0002,140,481
Percentage51.17%48.83%

Votos Presidente por Provincia Ecuador segunda vuelta 1998.svg
Map of results of the second round by provinces.

President before election

Fabian Alarcon
FRA

Elected President

Jamil Mahuad
Democracia Popular

General elections were held in Ecuador on 31 May 1998, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 July. [1] The result was a victory for Jamil Mahuad of the Popular Democracy (DP) party, who won the run-off with 51.2% of the vote. [2] The DP alliance also emerged as the largest party in the National Congress, winning 32 of the 120 seats. [3]

Contents

Background

Following the 1996 general elections, President Abdalá Bucaram was removed from office by Congress nine months later on grounds of mental incapacity. Fabian Alarcon thereupon took his place as caretaker Head of State.

Contestants

The leading contestants of the six (including two women) vying for the presidency were Jamil Mahuad (DP), the mayor of Quito, and Álvaro Noboa (Ecuadorian Roldosist Party), a wealthy businessman. Campaign debates were marked by personal accusations of drug links and threatened lawsuits between the two rivals, alongside statements on substantive policy questions relating primarily to corruption and the country's ailing economy. Problems in this latter sector (high inflation, budget deficit) had been aggravated by the sociological and infrastructural damage caused by the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño and the worldwide drop in oil prices, Ecuador's main export earner. Mahuad advocated an intense program of private investment to achieve a 5% annual growth rate, privatizations, job creation and housing construction.

Results

President

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Jamil Mahuad Popular Democracy 1,342,11434.922,243,00051.17
Álvaro Noboa Ecuadorian Roldosist Party 1,022,66726.612,140,48148.83
Rodrigo Borja Cevallos Democratic Left 619,58116.12
Freddy Ehlers Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement – New Country 566,91714.75
Rosalía Arteaga Independent Movement for an Authentic Republic195,0005.07
Maria Eugenia Lima Democratic People's Movement 97,5222.54
Total3,843,801100.004,383,481100.00
Valid votes3,843,80184.714,383,48188.38
Invalid/blank votes694,02115.29576,59411.62
Total votes4,537,822100.004,960,075100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,072,49664.167,072,49670.13
Source: Nohlen

National Congress

PartyFirst roundSecond roundSeats+/–
Votes%Votes%
Social Christian Party 839,56723.805,114,36923.4928+1
Popular Democracy 669,47318.986,008,94027.6035+24
Ecuadorian Roldosist Party 628,26517.814,429,11420.3422+3
Democratic Left 544,08815.423,006,73713.8117+13
MUPPPSFA 325,3659.22127,8910.598
Conservative Party 184,0485.223+2
Democratic People's Movement 151,0964.28980,2534.5020
Alfarista Radical Front 54,1371.53559,5482.572
National Alfarismo Party51,5151.460
Concentration of People's Forces 37,5071.06241,0021.1110
Ecuadorian Revolutionary Popular Action 28,8370.82180,3990.830–2
Latin American People's Union14,0430.40145,4100.6700
Other parties and independents980,2534.503
Total3,527,941100.0021,773,916100.00121+39
Valid votes3,527,94177.752,525,49172.60
Invalid/blank votes1,009,88122.25953,03327.40
Total votes4,537,822100.003,478,524100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,072,49664.167,072,49649.18
Source: Nohlen, OPLAL

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p380 ISBN   978-0-19-928358-3
  2. Nohlen, p404
  3. Nohlen, p396