QUITO, February 19 (Reuters) - Ecuadoreans were voting on Sunday in a nail-biter presidential election where an ally of leftist President Rafael Correa hopes to clinch enough support to avoid a runoff against a conservative ex-banker.
Lenin Moreno, 63, a disabled former vice president, needs 40 percent of valid votes and a 10 percentage point difference with his nearest rival to avoid a second round on April 2 and continue a decade of left-wing rule in the Andean country.
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Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa speaks next to delegates (not pictured) of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), which will participate in Ecuador's electoral process, in Guayaquil, Ecuador February 18, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero[/caption]
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A woman checks her vote during Ecuador's presidential election at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo[/caption]
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Voters wait to cast their votes in the presidential election in a public school, used as a polling station, in Guayaquil, Ecuador February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero[/caption]
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Soldiers stand guard as an election worker (C) prepares ballot boxes during the presidential election in a public school, used as a polling station, in Guayaquil, Ecuador February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Henry Romero[/caption]
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A man's son stands next to him as he votes during Ecuador's presidential election at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo[/caption]
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A soldier patrols during Ecuador's presidential election at a polling station in Quito, Ecuador, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo[/caption]
He looked close in an early February poll, with an estimated 38.6 percent of valid votes versus 25.7 percent for his nearest challenger Guillermo Lasso, a 61-year-old former president of Banco de Guayaquil, according to pollster Cedatos.
If Moreno is forced into a second round, analysts expect Ecuador's fractured opposition to coalesce around Lasso amid an economic downturn and corruption scandals in OPEC's smallest member state.
That would further bolster the right in South America, after Argentina, Brazil and Peru all shifted away from leftist rule in the past 18 months as a commodities boom ended.
Still, Ecuador's ruling Country Alliance party remains popular with many poor in the country, home to volcano-topped Andean plateaus, lush jungles and the Galapagos Islands.
"We need minimal changes only, and that this work continue," said Eulalia Imbaquingo, 42, an accountant who voted for Moreno in the mountainous capital Quito.
Moreno, who lost use of his legs two decades ago after being shot during a robbery, has a more conciliatory style than the fiery Correa and has promised benefits for the disabled, single mothers, and the elderly.
But the economy is weighing heavily on voters.
Unemployment is running high, the middle class is upset over tax hikes, and corruption scandals at state-run oil company PetroEcuador and Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht have outraged many.
"I hope the next president isn't such a thief, so shameless," said Eduardo Arrieta, a 26 year-old insurance worker who declined to identify his candidate. "The situation must change so that the country advances because we can't live with this economic crisis."
Lasso has campaigned on a platform to revive the economy, which is dependent on exports of oil, flowers, and shrimp, by slashing taxes, fostering foreign investment, and creating 1 million jobs in four years.
He has also vowed a clean break with Correa's foreign policy. He would remove Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the country's embassy in London by late June and take a firm stance against Venezuela's socialist government.
TRICKY PREDICTIONS
Analysts cautioned there was still a high number of undecided voters in the run-up to Sunday and warned that eight candidates in the first round made predictions tricky.
While some voters are disappointed by Correa's governance, they cannot bring themselves to vote for a former banker seen as out of touch with most Ecuadoreans. And another opposition candidate, lawyer and former lawmaker Cynthia Viteri, is seen cutting into Lasso's support.
The next president will face an uphill battle to create jobs, reckon with a big pile of debt, and maintain major social welfare plans amid lower crude prices.
Correa, one of the key figures in Latin America's leftist axis for years, has brought stability to the politically turbulent country but has aggravated many with his confrontational style. He plans to move to Belgium with his Belgian wife after leaving office.
Voters are also choosing 137 members of the National Assembly, where no party is expected to clinch a majority, and vote on a proposed ban on public officials having accounts or assets in tax havens.
The next presidential term starts on May 24 and lasts four years. Polls close at 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) and preliminary results are expected to trickle in throughout the evening.