Two candidates murdered in Ecuador as electoral campaign begins under state of exception
Ecuador begins electoral campaign on 29 November amid political violence: two candidates have been murdered and Noboa has declared a state of exception in eight provinces.
Electoral campaign begins in Ecuador under wave of violence and state of exception
Quito. Ecuador formally opens its electoral campaign with the murder of two candidates and a new state of exception declared in eight provinces, according to jornada.com.mx. On 29 November, more than 200 mayors, 23 prefects and thousands of councillors and members of parish boards will be elected in a climate of political and criminal violence that has intensified in recent weeks.
The latest victim was Ronald Farfán, candidate for Mayor of Huaquillas, killed in a contract-killing style on Monday night, along with candidate councillor Cristhian Rugel and a 63-year-old woman identified as Hilda Ruiz. In a video recorded the previous Sunday, Farfán identified the current mayor of that city, Luis Farez, as a possible person responsible for any attack against him and his family. The Police have not corroborated that allegation, although they confirmed that Rugel had been a victim of extortion six months earlier.
From various platforms and non-governmental organisations, 33 murders of politicians and 22 journalists have been documented since 2023, the year in which President Daniel Noboa took office. Investigations reveal that 90 per cent of those fatal attacks occurred in the provinces of Manabí, Guayas, El Oro and Azuay, areas classified by the Police as critical routes for drug trafficking and extortion.
The Interior Ministry records 6,285 intentional homicides between January and September 2026, an 8.1 per cent decrease compared with the same period in 2025. However, the most violent weeks of the year are still to come, according to the same authorities.
On Tuesday, Noboa declared a new state of exception in the eight most violent provinces in the country. In those areas the elections will be held under strict mobility measures and without permits for association or assembly. Opposition parties denounce that this measure restricts the promotion of their candidates, whilst pro-government candidates enjoy the backing of social networks, public media and state resources.
To this situation must be added the prosecution of several figures from the Citizens' Revolution who were leading voter intention polls. Former presidential candidate Luisa González was detained on 21 October; the Mayor of Guayaquil, Aquiles Álvarez, has been imprisoned since February; and the Mayor of Esmeraldas, Vico Villacís, has been held in custody for five months. Furthermore, tax investigations have been opened against the Mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, and against the candidate with the greatest chances for the mayoralty of Guayaquil, Fiorella Icaza.
Source: Google News EC — Crime