Ammon News - Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa won the country’s presidential election on Sunday based on preliminary results, an electoral official said, as his main rival demanded a recount of the vote following a race overshadowed by drug-fueled violence that has consumed the once-peaceful South American country.

Noboa, a conservative, has made fighting crime and economic revitalization two of his main goals — summed up in the slogan “New Ecuador”— as he faces, among other challenges, violence by criminal groups and an energy crisis that has caused constant blackouts in the country.

With 90% of the ballots counted, the trend in favor of Noboa is irreversible and he is considered the winner, National Electoral Council president Diana Atamaint told a press conference Sunday.

But Noboa’s closest challenger, leftist lawyer Luisa González, said she rejected the results and demanded a recount.

Noboa, meanwhile, thanked those who voted for him during a rally with his supporters in the beach town of Olón.

“This day has been historic, this victory has also been historic, a victory by more than 10 points, a victory by more than a million votes where there is no doubt who the winner is,” Noboa said. CNN