The official outcome of Sunday's vote gave Noboa 44.15% of the votes cast, followed by 43.95% for leftist challenger Luisa Gonzalez - an outcome closer than predicted by opinion polls.

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.

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.