International

What will the second round of Ecuador’s elections be like?

Photo: EFE

October 13 |

Next Sunday, October 15, the presidential candidate of Revolución Ciudadana (RC), Luisa González, and the candidate of the coalition Acción Democrática Nacional (ADN), Daniel Noboa, will face each other in the second round of the early elections in Ecuador.

More than 13 million Ecuadorians will go to the polls to choose who will be their president. This is the second round of voting after in the first round held last August 20 none of the candidates achieved a simple majority of 50 percent plus one.

The winner will succeed Guillermo Lasso and will finish the presidential term 2021-2025, due to the fact that, in May 2023, the current president decreed the dissolution of the National Assembly at the same time as the end of his presidential term, a mechanism called “muerte cruzada”, which allows calling for early general elections.

Daniel Noboa, 35, is a businessman and son of Alvaro Noboa, who was a presidential candidate on several occasions. Noboa seeks to create tax incentives and tax exemptions for new businesses. In terms of security, he wants to strengthen the judicial system, combat cyber crimes and improve the prison system.

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The candidate of former President Rafael Correa’s party, Luisa Gonzalez, 45, became the first woman to obtain such a significant percentage in the first round of presidential elections with 33 percent of the votes in her favor, she advocates fighting crime, corruption and strengthening the judiciary.

Several pollsters authorized by the National Electoral Council (CNE) have presented their latest figures to the population.

The company Comunicaliza indicates that 41.5 percent of the Ecuadorians consulted would opt for Daniel Noboa. While the candidate Luisa Gonzalez, obtains 36.4 percent. In addition, 12.4 percent are still undecided as to who they will vote for, while 9.7 percent will decide to vote blank or null.

According to the results of the pollster Telcodata, the representative of Alianza Democrática would have 36.7 percent, while the candidate of the Revolución Ciudadana movement would have 36.4 percent. Although everything would be decided by those who still do not know for whom they will vote, since this group represents 15.9 percent.

Another pollster called Negocios & Estrategias places Noboa in first place with 39 percent, but Gonzalez with 38.63 percent, which reflects the tightness of this second round. And 17.07 percent still have not decided for whom they will vote.

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In Ecuador voting is mandatory for the majority of the population. Voting is imperative for citizens between 18 and 65 years of age, for young people between 16 and 17 years of age and for active duty members of the Police and Armed Forces.

In the event that any person fails to comply with his obligation to participate in the elections, a fine of 10 percent of the minimum wage will be imposed. Persons over 65 years of age, health professionals working on election day, if they were sick, disabled, had a domestic calamity, were involved in a traffic accident or if they were out of the country will be exempted from paying the fine.

International

Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.

NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.

Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”

An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.

“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.

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“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.

The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”

At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”

International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.