Lasso earlier accepted Perez's request for a partial recount of the February 7 votes. | Photo: EFE

Quito, February 15 (RHC)-- The candidate for the Presidency of Ecuador for the CREO-PSC alliance, Guillermo Lasso, retracted this Sunday the agreement reached with presidential aspirant Yaku Perez for the recount of votes in 17 of the 24 provinces of the country.

In a letter sent to the National Electoral Council (CNE), Lasso requests that the council promulgate the results of the first round of elections held last February 7, "without prejudice to the corresponding challenges that may be presented in accordance with the law."

The February 7 elections were won by the presidential candidate of the opposition alliance Union for Hope (Unes), Andres Arauz, with 32.06 percent, and awaits an opponent for the second round, scheduled for next April 11.

Lasso, nominated by the Creando Oportunidades (CREO) movement, in alliance with the Social Christian Party (PSC), and Perez, candidate of the indigenist Pachakutik party, are competing for second place, due to the fact that they received 19.66 and 19.61 percent of the votes cast, according to the preliminary official count.

Last Friday, NEC announced that, in a meeting with Lasso and Perez, an agreement was reached to recount 100 percent of the votes in the province of Guayas, and to review 50 percent of the vote in 16 provinces.

In his letter this Sunday, the CREO-PSC aspirant said he agreed to the 100 percent review in Guayas, located in the southwest of the country, but established that, "if there was consensus with the other candidates", to recount 50 percent of the ballot boxes in the following provinces: Los Ríos, Manabí, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Pichincha and Bolívar.