Ecuadorian general election, 1998

Ecuadorian general election, 1998

May 30, 1998

Nominee Jamil Mahuad Álvaro Noboa Party DP PRE Running mate Gustavo Noboa Alfredo Castillo Popular vote 2,243,000 2,140,481 Percentage 51.2% 48.8%

President before election Fabian Alarcon FRA Elected President Jamil Mahuad DP

General elections were held in Ecuador on 31 May 1998, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 July.^[1] The result was a victory for Jamil Mahuad of the DP–UDC alliance, who won the run-off with 51.2% of the vote.^[2] The DP–UDC alliance also emerged as the largest party in the National Congress, winning 32 of the 120 seats.^[3]

Background

Following the 1996 general elections, President Abdalá Bucaram was removed from office by Congress nine months later on grounds of mental incapacity. Fabian Alarcon thereupon took his place as caretaker Head of State.

Contestants

The leading contestants of the six (including two women) vying for the presidency were Jamil Mahuad (DP–UDC), the mayor of Quito, and Álvaro Noboa (Ecuadorian Roldosist Party), a wealthy businessman. Campaign debates were marked by personal accusations of drug links and threatened lawsuits between the two rivals, alongside statements on substantive policy questions relating primarily to corruption and the country’s ailing economy. Problems in this latter sector (high inflation, budget deficit) had been aggravated by the sociological and infrastructural damage caused by the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño and the worldwide drop in oil prices, Ecuador’s main export earner. Mahuad advocated an intense program of private investment to achieve a 5% annual growth rate, privatizations, job creation and housing construction.

Results

President

Candidate	Party	First round		Second round
		Votes	%	Votes	%
Jamil Mahuad	DP–UDC	1,342,114	34.9	2,243,000	51.2
Álvaro Noboa	Ecuadorian Roldosist Party	1,022,667	26.6	2,140,481	48.8
Rodrigo Borja Cevallos	Democratic Left	619,581	16.1
Freddy Ehlers	Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement – New Country	566,917	14.7
Rosalía Arteaga	Independent Movement for an Authentic Republic	195,000	5.1
Maria Eugenia Lima	Democratic People's Movement	97,522	2.5
Invalid/blank votes		694,021	–	576,594	–
Total		4,537,822	100	4,960,075	100
Registered voters/turnout		7,072,496	64.2	7,072,496	70.1
Source: Nohlen

National Congress

Party	Nationwide		District		Seats	+/–
	Votes	%	Votes	%
Social Christian Party	839,567	23.8	5,114,369	23.5	26	–1
DP–UDC	669,473	19.0	6,008,940	27.6	32	+21
Ecuadorian Roldosist Party	628,265	17.8	4,429,114	20.3	24	+5
Democratic Left	544,088	15.4	3,006,737	13.8	15	+11
Pachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement – New Country	325,365	9.2	127,891	0.6	5	–3
Democratic People's Movement	151,096	4.3	980,253	4.5	2	0
FRA	54,137	1.5	559,548	2.6	3	+3
Concentration of People's Forces	37,507	1.1	241,002	1.1	0	–1
Ecuadorian Revolutionary Popular Action	28,837	0.8	180,399	0.8	0	–2
National Alfarismo Party	51,515	1.5	–	–	13	–
Latin American People's Union	14,043	0.4	145,410	0.7
Other parties	–	–	980,253	4.5
Invalid/blank votes	1,009,881	–	953,033	–	–	–
Total	4,537,822	100	3,478,524	100	120	+38
Registered voters/turnout	7,072,496	64.2	7,072,496	49.2	–	–
Source: Nohlen

References

1. Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p380 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
2. Nohlen, p404
3. Nohlen, p396