Elections in Ecuador will determine the fate of Julian Assange
MEXICO city, 19 Feb — RIA Novosti. The fate of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will largely depend on the outcome of the presidential election in Ecuador on Sunday. In the Embassy of Ecuador in London, Assange is hiding in 2012.
If the official Quito in the face of foreign Minister Guillaume long has previously stated that he intends to continue to grant asylum to Assange, then the right-wing candidates for the presidency of Ecuador are set up to deprive him of this opportunity.
So, a former banker and a representative of the center-right Alliance “KREO-SCRIP” Guillermo Lasso has promised in case of victory to ask Assange to leave the Embassy within 30 days. According to analysts, that Lasso is the main rival candidate from the Pro-government “Alianza país” Lenin Moreno has a chance to compete with him in the second round of elections if such take place.
Running third in popularity among voters, as evidenced by recent polls, the candidate of the social Christian party Cynthia Viteri said to AFP, that she intends to deny Assange asylum.
The candidate of the “Alianza país” Moreno did not comment on this subject, however, informed the foreign Ministry stressed that Ecuador will continue to assist Assange. At the same time, in last November, Assange was limited Internet access in the Embassy of Ecuador in London at the time of U.S. presidential elections, told reporters the foreign Minister of Ecuador long.
To win in the first round a candidate must receive either more than 50% of the votes or at least 40% of the vote, however, under this option, he needs to beat his nearest rival by more than 10%. Otherwise, 2 of April of this year, held a second round of elections.
Loud scandal around WikiLeaks founder erupted after the publication on the site of documents of diplomatic service of the United States at the end of November 2010. Assange is currently in Britain and is hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy, where he was granted political asylum. The British Supreme court ruled to extradite Assange to Sweden, whose authorities accuse him of sex crimes. The founder of WikiLeaks has previously confessed his fears that he would give the U.S. authorities, where he could face the death penalty.