Ecuador is preparing for a crucial presidential run-off between Daniel Noboa and Luisa González on April 13, with the National Electoral Council (CNE) implementing advanced security measures to ensure election integrity.

In a national televised broadcast on April 10, 2025, the CNE announced that ballots will feature sophisticated anti-tampering elements, including anti-copying and anti-scanning protection, microtexts, security patterns, barcodes, QR codes, and complex structures designed to prevent duplication or forgery.

Presidential election ballots, approved by the CNE with political organisation representatives present, are printed by the Military Geographic Institute (IGM). The electoral infrastructure includes specialised cybersecurity architecture protecting the main data centre, 1,680 tally sheet digitisation centres, and 25 electoral processing centres.

Notably, vote tally sheets incorporate blockchain technology to guarantee traceability and immutability of results. Each tally sheet features a QR code providing access to its image and history, enabling secure, synchronised record-keeping throughout the electoral process.

The technological safeguards come as both presidential candidates concluded their campaigns with final rallies on April 10, as reported by AFP.

Right-wing Noboa, 37, Ecuador's youngest president in history, has served since November 2023 after winning a snap election. During his brief presidency to date, Noboa has prioritised tackling Ecuador's gang-related security crisis. The results have been remarkable, with the homicide rate dropping from 46.18 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 38.76 in 2024, as per official government figures. “I think that the citizens, for the most part, recognise his effort to improve security,” security consultant Hugo Acero stated, as quoted by AP.

His opponent, 47-year-old leftist Luisa González, is a protegè of former President Rafael Correa's Citizen Revolution party. Her platform centres on increased social spending and using $2.5bn from international reserves for economic stimulus and infrastructure investment.

González has also taken a hardline approach to Ecuador’s oil future. While Noboa supported a controversial oil field operation transfer to a Chinese-Canadian consortium, González has pledged to cancel the arrangement, aligning herself with the views of the country’s oil workers' unions.

Ecuador faces persistent security and economic challenges, particularly after the country’s energy crisis following a prolonged drought. What sets out to be a tight race represents a critical choice between the continuation of Noboa's security-focused governance and González's promise of a return to Correa-era social programmes.