Ecuador Opposition candidate alleges fraud

Right-wing Ecuadorian Opposition candidate Guillermo Lasso alleged fraud on Sunday in the country’s presidential runoff election, vowing to contest results that had his rival Lenin Moreno extending a decade of socialist rule.

Early results projected victory for the incumbent party's candidate Lenin Moreno, with 51.12% of the vote to 48.88% for ex-banker Lasso, and just 4% of districts still waiting to be counted, according to the National Electoral Council.

Lasso said his campaign had evidence of an attempt to rig the results.

"We are going to defend the will of the Ecuadoran people in the face of an attempted fraud that aims to install what would be an illegitimate government," he said, setting up what could be a long and ugly fight.

The election is being closely watched as a barometer of the political climate in Latin America, where more than a decade of leftist dominance has been waning.

It may also decide the fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been holed up in Ecuador's London embassy since 2012.

Both candidates claimed victory on the basis of conflicting exit polls.

"We will continue this process that has changed Ecuadorans' lives, especially for the poorest citizens," Moreno, a wheelchair user paralyzed in a 1998 carjacking, triumphantly told supporters.

But Lasso demanded a recount, and called on supporters to take to the streets, alleging electoral fraud had been used to grant victory to his opponent.

In a series of tweets, he told the public to "peacefully defend your vote" and said he was "going to defend the will of the people".

Final official results have yet to be announced.

If Moreno is declared the winner, he will continue a decade of left-wing leadership begun by President Rafael Correa in 2007.

He would also become one of a small number of disabled world leaders, having become paraplegic in 1998 shooting during a robbery.