PhotoQUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador will hold a runoff election to choose a successor for President Rafael Correa, the country’s electoral commission ruled, in a vote being closely watched around Latin America. Mr. Moreno led the nine-candidate field in the election on Sunday with 39.4 percent of votes, just short of the 40 percent threshold needed for an outright victory. Mr. Lasso finished second, with 28.1 percent. The electoral authorities had appealed for calm, saying that it would take time to know if a runoff would be necessary. Conservative leaders in Argentina, Brazil and Peru have come to power in the past 18 months, after the end of a commodities boom that had helped bolster leftist candidates like Mr. Correa.

Source: New York Times February 23, 2017 14:28 UTC