Ecuador's leading presidential candidates would support at least some private-sector investment in energy, prompted by massive power outages last year that have weighed on the campaign.
Incumbent president and leading candidate Daniel Noboa would keep investing in new thermoelectric plants and would tender the $600mn, 500MW Cardenillo hydroelectric project this year, he said when the 16 official candidates debated their platforms over the weekend. He would continue to support outside investment in the crude sector and large-scale copper and gold mining.
On 9 February, about 13.7mn Ecuadorians are eligible to vote in the compulsory election to pick a president, vice president and 151 members of the one-chamber national assembly. This comes less than two years after a snap presidential and congressional election in August 2023 that Noboa won.
Noboa is ahead despite crippling power outages last year under his administration because of droughts that cut Ecuador's hydroelectric output amid long-running technical problems and delays with the power plants contracted under previous administrations. Ecuador ended the rolling outages late last year as heavier rains, electricity imports from Colombia and additional thermoelectric capacity eased the problem.
About 32pc-36pc of voters support Noboa. He is followed by Luisa Gonzalez, candidate of the Revolucion Ciudadana party sponsored by exiled former president Rafael Correa, with 21pc-33pc, according to Cedatos and Comunicaliza polls published on 18 January and 11 January, respectively.
Gonzalez would support private-sector investment in the energy sector, but only to expand the coverage of electricity services. The hydroelectric plants facing technical and other problems were awarded during Correa's administration from 2008-2012, mostly to state-owned Chinese firms.
The next leading candidates are Jimmy Jairala, a former television anchor and leader of Centro Democratico party, with 3pc, and Leonidas Iza, president of the confederation of indigenous nationalities (Conaie) and candidate of the Pachakutik party, with 2pc.
Jairala also favors tendering the Cardenillo project and attracting outside investment to oil and mining but Iza opposes privatization of national resources and large-scale mining.
The remaining candidates have even smaller shares, and 14pc of voters are undecided, with another 14pc planning to void their ballots.
Unless a single candidate secures 40pc of the vote with a 10 percentage point or more lead, there will be a second round of voting on 13 April. The winner will take office on 24 May for a four-year term.
