At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Ecuador

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Rafael CORREA Delgado
• Head of Government: President Rafael CORREA Delgado
• Assembly: Ecuador has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 137 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote to serve a 4-year term. *
• In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional), 15 members are elected through an open-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms, 116 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 6 members are elected by majority vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms.***

* 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 six seats are reserved to representatives for Ecuadorians living abroad and are elected in three multi-member constituencies. The single member districts were redrawn in 2012 to allow more proportional representation across the country.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Lucio Edwin GUTIÉRREZ Borbúa
  • Party: January 21 Patriotic Society Party / Partido Sociedad Patriótico 21 de Enero (PSP)
• Álvaro Fernando NOBOA Pontón
  • Party: Institutional Renewal Party of National Action / Partido Renovador Institucional Acción Nacional (PRIAN)
• Nelson Martín ZAVALA Avellán
  • Party: Ecuadorian Roldosist Party / Partido Roldosista Ecuatoriano
• Alberto ACOSTA Espinosa****
  • Coalition: Multinational Union of the Left / Unidad Plurinacional de las Izquierdas
• Guillermo Alberto Santiago LASSO Mendoza
  • Civic Movement: Creating Opportunities Movement / Movimiento CREO
• Mauricio RODAS Espinel
  • Party: Societal Movement for More United Action / Movimeinto Sociedad Unida Más Acción (SUMA)
• Norman Stef WRAY Reyes
  • Party: Rupture / Ruptura 25
• Rafeal Vicente CORREA Delgado
  • Party: PAIS Alliance / Movimeiento Allianza PAIS – Patria Altiva i Soberana (AP)

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 15,661,312 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 11,675,441 (February 2013)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 7,829,381 (2013)

·         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: 53 (following the 2013 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: 2,349,196 (est.)