Ecuador’s center-right President Daniel Noboa fell short of securing an outright majority in the country’s general election, according to results available on Monday, setting the stage for a run-off vote against his nearest leftist rival.

Noboa says his deployment of the military on the streets and within prisons has reduced violent deaths by 15%, led to a drastic fall in prison violence, and helped in the capture of major gang leaders.

Ecuador is likely to choose its next president in a runoff election later this year as early results of a first-round vote Sunday showed a tight battle between conservative President Daniel Noboa and leftist lawyer Luisa González.

An April presidential run-off in Ecuador will pit incumbent Daniel Noboa against leftist Luisa Gonzalez, in an unexpectedly tight contest featuring the same two candidates who were in a 2023 snap election.

Ecuador's presidential election will proceed to a second round runoff in April as no candidate seems to be able to win outright after more than 90 percent of the vote were counted. With 92.82 percent of the vote counted,