Ecuador Candidates Try to Stand Out After Rival’s Death
- Left-wing candidate Luisa Gonzalez expected to head to run-off
- Conservative Jan Topic seen gaining ground against Gonzalez
Presidential candidate Otto Sonnenholzner speaks on his arrival before the beginning of the presidential debate in Quito, on Aug. 13.
Photographer: Rodrigo Buendia/AFP/Getty Images
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Ecuador’s presidential candidates tried to distinguish themselves in a bumpy debate on Sunday, marked by the absence of a replacement for slain candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
A strict format made it difficult for participants to address each other, and no candidate dominated the evening. But some political analysts pointed to conservative Jan Topic as a winner based on Google search data. Polls conducted after Villavicencio’s killing have shown the anti-crime hard-liner gaining ground against leftist Luisa Gonzalez.