Businessman Alvaro Noboa is leading left-wing economist Rafael Correa by more than three percentage points in the recount of Sunday's Ecuador presidential election, with nearly 80 percent of the vote counted, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) told the media on Wednesday.

Noboa, of the Renewed National Institutional Action Party (Prian), won just over 1.15 million votes or 26.6 percent of the vote, Correa of the National Alliance Movement (PAiS) had just over a million votes or 23 percent of the vote, with 79.7 percent of the vote counted.

The two will go through to a second round on Nov. 26, because neither candidate has won the fifty percent plus one vote or 40 percent with a clear 10 point margin, needed to win the election in one round.

The TSE decided to recount the vote after a Brazilian company hired to count the vote failed to meet TSE conditions for a fast count. There were 11 other presidential candidates, but only three others won significant tranches of the vote.

Gilmar Gutierrez, of the Patriotic Society Party who is brother to deposed former president Lucio Gutierrez, won 774,047 votes, or 17.7 percent. Former vice-president Leon Roldos of the Ethical Democratic Network and Democratic Left coalition won 651,579 votes, or 14.9 percent. Cynthia Viteri of the Christian Socialist Party won 422,378 votes or 9.7 percent. All the other candidates won 98,136 votes each.

The TSE said that 27.9 of registered voters did not cast a vote.

TSE spokesman Patricio Torres said that full results for the presidential vote would probably be published on Tuesday.

The winner of the second round vote will take power on Jan. 15 for a four-year team that ends in 2011, replacing interim president Alfredo Palacio, who took power on April 20, 2005, after Lucio Gutierrez left office amid rioting.
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(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2006)