Assange Expected to Be Safe Following Ruling Party Winning Election in Ecuador

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By Kody Fairfield

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will likely be able to remain at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London after voters in Ecuador on Sunday narrowly elected ruling party candidate Lenín Moreno over conservative Guillermo Lasso, reports USA Today.

USA Today explained the election results:

Moreno, the political successor to President Rafael Correa, had said he would allow Assange to stay. Correa in 2012 granted asylum to Assange, who hasn’t left the embassy since.

Moreno won the presidential runoff with 51% of the vote, according to an official quick count by by the National Electoral Council, although Lasso was seeking a recount after three exit polls showed him winning by a comfortable margin. Minutes earlier a separate quick count by a respected local group said the race was a technical tie with a difference of less than 0.6 percentage points separating the two candidates. The group refrained from saying which candidate was leading until the electoral authorities made their pronouncement.

Official results still being counted showed Moreno ahead by two points with 94% of voting acts counted.

There were fears about Assange’s future following comments to the Miami Herald from challenger Lasso which explained that under a potential his potential administration they would “ask Mr. Assange, very politely, to leave our embassy, in absolute compliance with international conventions and protocols. We vow to take all the steps necessary so that another embassy will take him in and protect his rights.”

The Washington Post did report that even with all the world media paying attention to the outcome’s effect on Assange, the Ecuadorian people were not overly concerned with the issue.

USA Today believes that with a Moreno win, the two parties, Ecuador and Assange, will continue their agreement which was put in place in 2012 by the President, because he viewed the Wikileaks founder as a fellow “anti-imperialist,” who could help him win support.

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