
INTERNATIONAL observers raised the alarm over a sudden state of emergency declared in Ecuador ahead of tomorrow’s election, warning it could be designed to help incumbent President Daniel Noboa rig the vote.
Mr Noboa, son of the country’s richest man, and socialist challenger Luisa Gonzalez of the Citizen Revolution dayMovement (RC) were neck and neck in the first round with 44 per cent each.
The state of emergency — officially enacted to tackle violent drug-trafficking gangs — restricts freedom of assembly and allows arbitrary police seizure of devices and documents.

Morning Star editor Ben Chacko speaks to JON FARLEY – the retired headteacher whose arrest in Leeds exposes the grim absurdity of the Palestine Action ban