Ecuadorians living in Spain are set to participate in a significant electoral process on Sunday, with Madrid serving as the largest voting center abroad. According to Ecuador’s ambassador to Spain, Wilma Andrade, the hope is that the elections will bring a sense of calm after a strongly polarized campaign.
Around 13.7 million Ecuadorians, both within and outside the country, are expected to cast their votes to choose their national authorities for the 2025-2029 period, including the President. While the largest Ecuadorian community abroad is located in the United States, with approximately 800,000 people, Madrid stands out as the largest voting center outside of Ecuador, with nearly 72,000 registered voters. These voters will decide between the current president and candidate for re-election, Daniel Noboa, and the candidate of Correism, Luisa González, who are currently favorites in the survey.
Although there are 16 candidates participating in the electoral process, the ambassador notes that the polarization has largely focused on these two candidates. In an interview, Andrade expressed confidence that the electoral process will proceed with normality and calm, without any events that could distort or generate chaos on the day of voting.
Notably, these elections mark the first to be held in Ecuador under the state of “internal armed conflict,” declared early in 2024 by President Noboa to combat criminal gangs, which have been the main cause of the wave of violence in the country. In 2023, Ecuador registered the highest rate of homicides in Latin America.
The elections will determine not only the Presidency and Vice Presidency but also the 151 parliamentarians of the National Assembly and five representatives for the Andean Parliament. Out of the approximately 460,000 Ecuadorians living in Spain, around 189,654 are eligible to vote. It’s worth noting that about 90 percent of Ecuadorians in Spain hold dual nationality.
Ambassador Andrade recalled that the number of Ecuadorians in Spain was once around one million but decreased due to the economic crisis of 2008, which led many to return to Ecuador or seek opportunities in other European countries. The upcoming elections are a significant moment for the Ecuadorian community, both in Spain and globally, as they look to shape the future of their country.