Ecuador's presidential election balanced on a razor-thin margin late Sunday as the two runoff candidates were polling within 3 percentage points with over 96% of the votes counted.
As counting neared completion in Quito and around the country, leftist candidate Lenin Moreno of the ruling Alianza PAIS (Country Alliance) party held a narrow lead over conservative opponent Guillermo Lasso.
Preliminary figures released by the country's National Electoral Council (CNE) had Moreno with 51.1% for the votes cast, and Lasso at 48.9%, with 96.22% of the votes counted.
Around 8.30 p.m. local time (7.30 p.m. ET) Moreno declared himself the winner, but shortly that after a nongovernmental organization that had been monitoring the result said that it was a virtual tie.
Ecuadorean state media declared Moreno -- outgoing President Rafael Correa's chosen successor -- the victor.
While no official announcement has yet been made by the CNE, the body said that Moreno was ahead by 2 percentage points and the trend was irreversible.
Lasso, a former banker, said that he was requesting a recount.
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