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

Polls have opened in a presidential election in Ecuador that has shaped up to be a repeat of the 2023 race, when voters chose a young, conservative millionaire over the leftist protégée of the country’s most influential president this century.

QUITO - 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.