Ecuador
Presidential election, 13 April 2025 (Second Round)
Floods, January–May 2025
Heavy rains during the first half of 2025 caused flooding in the costal and southern parts of Ecuador. The floods affected around 186,000 citizens, with 48 deaths recorded. Since the beginning of the winter season, there had been 3,117 adverse events (landslides, floods, structural collapses, etc.) recorded due to heavy rain (El Commercio 2025).
Impact on the electoral process
On the 12 April 2025, The National Electoral Council (CNE) decided 24 polling stations were to be relocated before the presidential runoff election the next day, 13 April 2025. (Originally, the CNE announced that only 10 polling station locations would be changed, but this changed with the late announcement – Primicias 2025b). The moves involved the provinces of Cotopaxi, Los Ríos, Santa Elena, Zamora Chinchipe, Manabí, El Oro, Guayas, Morona Santiago, and Loja (EFE 2025). Reasons for moving the polling stations included needing the space for displaced people or because the proposed location was affected by rain and flooding (Primicias 2025b). The president of the CNE stated that technical reports were used to decide if the polling stations should be moved or not (Sanchéz 2025).
Supporters of the opposition Citizens’ Revolution Party—and three opposition candidates—pushed back against these changes, alleging they were attempts to help the incumbent, President Daniel Noboa, to win reelection and commit electoral fraud (Primicias 2025a; Trujillo 2025). One opposition candidate even threatened the president of the CNE, saying people 'will meet you in the streets' (Primicias 2025a). Another noted that the changes were being made in provinces where the opposition had beaten President Daniel Noboa in the first round. The CNE responded by stating fraud is impossible because the CNE has used the same process for all other elections and uses every opportunity to improve (Primicias 2025d).
Noboa made an official request through the National Emergency Operations Committee of the CNE to waive fines (USD $47 per voter) for voters who could not make it due to the floods and rain (Mera 2025). This request was denied (Primicias 2025c).
The voter turnout rate was 82.95 per cent which is the similar the 82.36 per cent turnout recorded in the last presidential election in 2023 (International IDEA n.d.).
Bibliography
El Comercio, ‘Las lluvias en Ecuador dejan 48 fallecidos y más de 185 000 afectados en lo que va de 2025’ [Rains in Ecuador have left 48 dead and more than 185,000 affected so far in 2025], 3 May 2025, < https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/ecuador/lluvias-ecuador-48-fallecidos-afectados-2025/ >, accessed 14 October 2025
International IDEA, Voter Turnout Database – ‘Ecuador’, < https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/country?country=65&database_theme=293 >, accessed 14 October 2025
Primicias, ‘CNE garantiza funcionamiento de recintos pese a lluvias y acusa al correísmo de desinformar sobre la segunda vuelta’ [CNE guarantees the operation of polling stations despite rain and accuses Correa's administration of misinformation about the second round], 6 April 2025a, < https://www.primicias.ec/elecciones/ecuador2025/presidenciales/cne-recintos-electorales-lluvias-correismo-segunda-vuelta-electoral-93394/ >, accessed 14 October 2025
—, ‘Estos son los recintos reubicados para la segunda vuelta de las elecciones en Ecuador 2025’ [These are the relocated polling stations for the second round of the 2025 elections in Ecuador], 8 April 2025b, < https://www.primicias.ec/elecciones/ecuador2025/presidenciales/nuevos-recintos-electorales-lluvias-cne-segunda-vuelta-93548/ >, accessed 14 October 2025
—, ‘Los 43 cantones declarados en emergencia por las lluvias concentran 1,35 millones de votantes’, 11 April 2025c, < https://www.primicias.ec/elecciones/ecuador2025/presidenciales/cantones-emergencia-lluvias-millones-votantes-segunda-vuelta-noboa-gonzalez-93728/ >, accessed 14 October 2025
— , ‘CNE habla de cambiar recintos electorales por las lluvias, el correísmo se enfurece y amenaza’ [The 43 cantons declared in a state of emergency due to the rains encompass 1.35 million voters], 11 April 2025d, < https://www.primicias.ec/elecciones/ecuador2025/presidenciales/cne-recintos-electorales-lluvias-correismo-segunda-vuelta-electoral-93394/ >, accessed 14 October 2025
Mera, E. M., ‘Elecciones Ecuador 2025: ¿Qué pasa si no voto? Multas y excepciones’ [Ecuador 2025 Elections: What happens if I don't vote? Fines and exceptions], Expreso, 8 February 2025, < https://www.expreso.ec/actualidad/elecciones-ecuador-2025-pasa-voto-multas-excepciones-230169.html>, accessed 14 October 2025
Sánchez, C., ‘Elecciones en Ecuador: Las fuertes lluvias azotan 25 recintos electorales en distintas provincias del país’ [Elections in Ecuador: Heavy rains hit 25 polling stations in different provinces], El Diario, 7 April 2025, <https://www.eldiario.ec/elecciones-en-ecuador-las-fuertes-lluvias-azotan-25-recintos-electorales-en-distintas-provincias-del-pais-20250407/>, accessed 14 October 2025
swissinfo.ch, ‘Los efectos de la temporada invernal obligan a reubicar 18 recintos electorales en Ecuador’ [The effects of the winter season force the relocation of 18 polling stations in Ecuador], SWI, 13 April 2025, <https://www.swissinfo.ch/spa/los-efectos-de-la-temporada-invernal-obligan-a-reubicar-18-recintos-electorales-en-ecuador/89154841>, accessed 14 October 2025
Trujillo, S., ‘CNE anuncia cambiar los recintos electorales por lluvias’ [CNE announces changing polling stations due to rain], La Prensa, 7 April 2025, <https://laprensa.com.ec/cne-anuncia-cambiar-los-recintos-electorales-por-lluvias/>, 14 October 2025
Floods
