Andres Arauz leads in polls ahead of Ecuador's runoff vote

Quito, March 24 (RHC)-- The candidate of Union for Hope (UNES), Andres Arauz, leads the voting intention with 43.15 percent against 23.75 percent for Guillermo Lasso, candidate for the Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO-PSC), according to a study conducted by the pollster Perfiles de Opinión.

This post-electoral survey, focused on the citizens' decision for the ballot on April 11, evaluated 4,056 people in Pichincha, Guayas, Manabí, Azuay, Los Ríos, Tungurahua, part of the Serra region, Coast and Amazon.

The age range of the subjects was from 18 to 65 years old and they are indistinctly men and women who voted on February 7. It has +-1.5 margin of error and was applied between February 20 and 24, 2021.  In addition to the percentage that would vote for Arauz (43.5) and Lasso (23.75), 25.74 percent of voters chose to annul their decision and 7.37 percent indicated blank votes.

In the state of Pichincha, 32.63 percent preferred the CREO candidate, while 28.51 would choose the UNES candidate.  Guayas would have 53.80 percent for Arauz in the second round, against 18.34 for Lasso.

The young economist has more voters in Azuay (39.77 percent), Los Ríos (60.54 percent) and Manabí (57.79 percent), while businessman Lasso has 23 percent in Azuay, 23.47 percent in Los Ríos and 15.82 percent in Manabí.

On the other hand, in terms of credibility, citizens surveyed give 45.95 percent to the young Arauz, against 23.93 percent for Lasso.