None of the Above, Protest Voting in Latin American Democracies

Author

Cohen; Mollie J.

Year

2024

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Language

English

Pages

ISBN

978-0-47290-428-0

Link

Last Update

15-Apr-2026

Keywords

Political Science ; Latin American Studies

Description

The first round of the 2021 Ecuadorian presidential election was decided by an extremely narrow margin. Yaku Pérez of the indigenous Pachakutik Movement was nudged out of contention in the April runoff, winning only 32,115 fewer votes (0.35% of all votes cast) than eventual winner Guillermo Lasso.

After this close loss, Pérez demanded a recount of the votes from three provinces, claiming that fraud had altered the final outcome. Following several false starts and a cross-country protest march by Pérez’s supporters, Ecuador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal declared that Lasso, not Pérez, would advance to the runoff.¹ After this determination, Pérez announced...