At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Ecuador

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Alfredo PALACIO *
• Head of Government: President Alfredo PALACIO **
• Assembly: Ecuador has a unicameral National Congress (Congreso Nacional) with 100 seats.

* The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term. Presidential elections take place under a two-round majority run-off system. In order to win in the first round, a candidate must garner at least 40% of the vote and have a 10 point advantage over the closest rival.

** The president is both the chief of state and head of government. Alfredo PALACIO became President after former President Lucio GUTIERREZ was removed from office by Congress in April 2005.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term.
• In the National Congress (Congreso Nacional) 100 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Rafael CORREA
  • Alliance: Country Alliance / Alianza PAIS
• ​Alvaro Fernando Noboa PONTON
  • Party: Institutional Renewal Party of National Action/Partido Renovador Institucional de Accion Nacional

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held in two rounds of voting on 20 October and 24 November 2002. Lucio Edwin GUTIERREZ BORBOA won the election with 54.4% of the vote, defeating Alvaro Fernando Noboa PONTON in the second round. 

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 13,967,490 (2006)
• Registered Voters: 9,165,125 (2006)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 6,973,890 (2006)

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Ecuador ratified CEDAW: Yes (9 November 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 25 (following the 2006 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 88 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Ecuador a signatory to CRPD: Yes 30 March 2007

·         Has Ecuador ratified CRPD: 3 April 2008

·         Population with a disability: 2,095,123 (est.)