QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A young leftist backed by a convicted-but-popular former president leads the field of 16 candidates in early returns from Ecuador’s presidential election. Sunday’s voting was held under strict sanitary measures due to the coronavirus pandemic. Frontrunner Andrés Arauz is supported by former President Rafael Correa, who is a major force in the troubled Andean nation despite a corruption conviction. Arauz is heading to an April 11 runoff, though it isn’t clear hours after polls closed who else may advance. An early quick count shows conservative former banker Guillermo Lasso and indigenous rights and environmental activist Yaku Pérez in a tight right for second place.
