1998 Ecuadorian general election
Presidential election
31 May 1998 (first round)
12 July 1998 (second round)
 
Nominee Jamil Mahuad Álvaro Noboa
Party Popular Democracy PRE
Running mate Gustavo Noboa Alfredo Castillo
Popular vote 2,243,000 2,140,481
Percentage 51.17% 48.83%
Map of results of the second round by provinces.
President before election

Fabian Alarcon
FRA

 Elected President

Jamil Mahuad
Democracia Popular

General elections were held in Ecuador on 31 May 1998, with a second round of the presidential elections on 12 July.[1] The result was a victory for Jamil Mahuad of the Popular Democracy (DP) party, who won the run-off with 51.2% of the vote.[2] The DP alliance also emerged as the largest party in the National Congress, winning 32 of the 120 seats.[3]

Background

Following the 1996 general elections, President Abdalá Bucaram was removed from office by Congress nine months later on grounds of mental incapacity. Fabian Alarcon thereupon took his place as caretaker Head of State.

Contestants

The leading contestants of the six (including two women) vying for the presidency were Jamil Mahuad (DP), the mayor of Quito, and Álvaro Noboa (Ecuadorian Roldosist Party), a wealthy businessman. Campaign debates were marked by personal accusations of drug links and threatened lawsuits between the two rivals, alongside statements on substantive policy questions relating primarily to corruption and the country's ailing economy. Problems in this latter sector (high inflation, budget deficit) had been aggravated by the sociological and infrastructural damage caused by the climatic phenomenon known as El Niño and the worldwide drop in oil prices, Ecuador's main export earner. Mahuad advocated an intense program of private investment to achieve a 5% annual growth rate, privatizations, job creation and housing construction.

Results

President

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Jamil MahuadPopular Democracy1,342,11434.922,243,00051.17
Álvaro NoboaEcuadorian Roldosist Party1,022,66726.612,140,48148.83
Rodrigo Borja CevallosDemocratic Left619,58116.12
Freddy EhlersPachakutik Plurinational Unity Movement – New Country566,91714.75
Rosalía ArteagaIndependent Movement for an Authentic Republic195,0005.07
Maria Eugenia LimaDemocratic People's Movement97,5222.54
Total3,843,801100.004,383,481100.00
Valid votes3,843,80184.714,383,48188.38
Invalid/blank votes694,02115.29576,59411.62
Total votes4,537,822100.004,960,075100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,072,49664.167,072,49670.13
Source: Nohlen

National Congress

PartyFirst roundSecond roundSeats+/–
Votes%Votes%
Social Christian Party839,56723.805,114,36923.4928+1
Popular Democracy669,47318.986,008,94027.6035+24
Ecuadorian Roldosist Party628,26517.814,429,11420.3422+3
Democratic Left544,08815.423,006,73713.8117+13
MUPP–PSFA325,3659.22127,8910.598–
Conservative Party184,0485.223+2
Democratic People's Movement151,0964.28980,2534.5020
Alfarista Radical Front54,1371.53559,5482.572–
National Alfarismo Party51,5151.460–
Concentration of People's Forces37,5071.06241,0021.1110
Ecuadorian Revolutionary Popular Action28,8370.82180,3990.830–2
Latin American People's Union14,0430.40145,4100.6700
Other parties and independents980,2534.503–
Total3,527,941100.0021,773,916100.00121+39
Valid votes3,527,94177.752,525,49172.60
Invalid/blank votes1,009,88122.25953,03327.40
Total votes4,537,822100.003,478,524100.00
Registered voters/turnout7,072,49664.167,072,49649.18
Source: Nohlen, OPLAL

References

  1. ↑ Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume II, p380 ISBN 978-0-19-928358-3
  2. ↑ Nohlen, p404
  3. ↑ Nohlen, p396
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