Ecuador's top presidential hopeful tells OAS he is wary of possible vote fraud

Presidential candidate Rafael Correa talks during a meeting with the foreign press at the Sheraron Hotel in Quito, Ecuador, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2006. Correa is supported by the alliance PAIS. The elections will be on Oct. 15. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa R.)

Associated Press

September 26, 2006

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador's leftist presidential front-runner told a top election observer Tuesday that he was wary of possible fraud in next month's vote.

Rafael Correa, the U.S. trained economist leading the polls in a field of 13 candidates ahead of the Oct. 15 election, met with Rafael Bielsa, head of an observer delegation from the Organization of American States.

He told reporters that he expressed to Bielsa "our concerns over indications that the elections will not be duly transparent."

The 43-year-old candidate reiterated fears that Leon Febres Cordero, a former president and leader of the rightist Social Christian Party, would exert influence over allies in the Supreme Election Tribunal to alter the results.

He also alleged that Ecuador's defense minister, Marcelo Delgado, might conspire against his candidacy...

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