Daniel Noboa, the heir to Ecuador’s banana empire, has been declared the youngest president-elect in the country’s history, as Quito erupts in celebration with car horns blaring.

With 90% of the votes counted, the electoral authority officially announced Noboa’s victory. Noboa’s socialist rival, Luisa Gonzalez, graciously conceded defeat and congratulated him, emphasizing the importance of democracy.

There were no reports of violence during the ten-hour voting period, even though Ecuador is grappling with a violent drug war and political assassinations that have disrupted the electoral process.

The election had been cut short due to the murder of a popular candidate, and both candidates, Noboa and Gonzalez, had pledged to address the escalating violence.

Over 100,000 police and soldiers were deployed to ensure a safe vote, and both candidates cast their ballots wearing bulletproof vests after a rival candidate was murdered just weeks before the election.

Crime and violence are the primary concerns of Ecuadorans, particularly as the country’s murder rate quadrupled in the four years leading up to 2022.

Historically peaceful, Ecuador has seen a surge in violence as rival gangs, with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels, vie for control. This violence has led to the massacre of over 460 inmates in prisons since February 2021, with grisly acts like beheadings and mass riots.

The violence has spilled into the streets, including gruesome displays like headless corpses hung from city bridges and car bombs detonated outside police stations.

The assassination of journalist and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August 2023 added to the bloodshed. He was a vocal anti-graft and anti-cartel figure who was gunned down in a hail of submachine-gun fire after a campaign speech, despite polling in second place.

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A state of emergency was declared in the aftermath of his killing, leading to heavily secured campaigning and voting for both Noboa and Gonzalez.

Noboa’s term is set for only 16 months, filling the term of the incumbent Guillermo Lasso, who called for a snap vote to avoid potential impeachment for alleged embezzlement.

He can run for reelection in 2025-2029 and the subsequent term. In a country with a 27% poverty rate and a quarter of the population unemployed or holding informal jobs, unemployment is one of the top concerns for voters.

Noboa, the son of one of Ecuador’s wealthiest individuals, has vowed to prioritize job creation.

Gonzalez, the handpicked candidate of socialist ex-president Rafael Correa, who ruled from 2007 to 2017, has an eight-year prison term for graft hanging over her, exacerbating another major concern in the country.

Despite Gonzalez’s victory in the first round of voting in August with 34%, she does not possess an absolute majority in the legislature to push through reforms during Noboa’s brief 16-month term.

Voting in Ecuador is compulsory for its 13.4 million eligible voters in a country with a total population of 16.9 million.

Following reports on social media suggesting multiple ballots were being filled out in favor of Noboa, the head of the National Electoral Commission, Diana Atamaint, pledged an “immediate” investigation into the matter.