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Ecuador's opposition candidate seeks alliances ahead of presidential runoff

Xinhua, March 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

The opposition candidate seeking to become president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, is continuing to gather support with other parties ahead of the second round of the presidential election on April 2.

Lasso, the right-wing candidate facing Lenin Moreno from the ruling PAIS Alliance, met Thursday with former presidential candidate, Abdala Bucaram Pulley, leader of the Fuerza Ecuador movement.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Bucaram Pulley said about a potential alliance that "we are in a conversation in which we have asked for our positions in benefit of the more humble sectors (of society) be respected. If this is given, then, we could take a decision in the coming days."

Bucaram Pulley, son of former President Abdala Bucaram, finished fifth in the first round of the presidential elections on Feb. 19, with 4.82 percent of the vote.

Lasso, a former banker and leader of the conservative CREO party, has also obtained the support of Cinthya Viteri, from the Christian Social Party, who finished third with 16.32 percent in the first round.

In an interview with Chilean radio on Thursday, Lasso said he had also sought this alliance to strengthen electoral control in the second round.

"The Christian Social Party has contested many local and national elections. Therefore, it has a lot of experience in terms of electoral control," he explained.

Lasso is also set to hold a meeting with Paco Moncayo, a former army general, who finished fourth with 6.71 percent.

Moncayo, a former mayor of the capital Quito, represented the National Pact for Change, a coalition of left-wing parties and movements.

With the support of all these parties, analysts believe Lasso would have an advantage to take the win away from Moreno in the second round.

According to results released by National Electoral Council (CNE), with 99.5 percent of the votes tabulated, Moreno won 39.3 percent of the vote, while Lasso had 28.1 percent in the first round. Enditem