Ecuador's election authority will conduct a recount in most of the country to ensure the transparency of its presidential election after one of the candidates made accusations of electoral fraud.
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Left-wing economist Andres Arauz won Sunday's vote and moved on to the April 11 run-off vote.
With less than one per cent of votes left to count, Guillermo Lasso holds a narrow lead over Indigenous activist Yaku Perez in the race for runner-up.
Perez demanded a full recount after saying the vote had been manipulated, without presenting evidence of fraud.
He argued the data in the minutes of various electoral boards are inconsistent with data entered into the vote-counting system.
National Elections Council President Diana Atamaint said a recount would be carried out in the province of Guayas, home to the largest city Guayaquil and where Perez had strongly questioned the outcome.
In addition, 50 per cent of the vote 16 other provinces will be reviewed.
"Once the review process is finished, the final announcement of the results will be made," Atamaint said in a statement.
Perez and Lasso agreed to the recount in a meeting that included observers from the Organisation of American States.
The official vote count shows Perez with 19.38 per cent of the votes and Lasso with 19.74 per cent, with 147 poll statements left to review. Arauz won the first round with 32.7 per cent.
Australian Associated Press
