The ruling Alianza Pais coalition (AP) retained the majority but its share of seats fell from 100 to 74 in the 137-member National Assembly. The AP comprises outgoing President Rafael Correa's Movement for a Proud and Sovereign Fatherland (PAIS) and its allies. The Creating Opportunities Movement (CREO), which formed an alliance with the Society United for More Action (SUMA), tripled their combined share of seats to 34. The elections saw a high turnover: only 31 members of the outgoing legislature were returned to parliament. During the election campaign, the major parties focused on policies related to health care, education, job creation, social security, tourism and tax reforms.

No candidate was elected in the first round of the presidential elections, which were held in parallel with the parliamentary polls (see note 1). In the run-off elections on 2 April between former vice president, Mr. Lenín Moreno (PAIS), and former economy minister, Mr. Guillermo Lasso (CREO), Mr. Moreno was elected with 51.16% of the vote. He will succeed Mr. Correa, who has been in power since 2007 (see note 2).

Note 1:
To avoid a runoff election, presidential candidates need to obtain 40 percent of the vote and hold at least a 10 percent advantage over the nearest rival.

Note 2:
In December 2015, the National Assembly approved a constitutional amendment allowing the president and other officials to be re-elected for an indefinite number of terms. However, the amendment only comes into force in 2021. Thus, Mr. Correa could not seek a new term in 2017.