ECUADOR’S left-wing Union for Hope (Unes) alliance has lodged an official appeal against the results of the April 11 presidential election won by former banker Guillermo Lasso.

“We have presented before the National Electoral Council [CNE] an appeal of objection to 1520 tally sheets, in which we have found numerical inconsistencies,” Unes legal representative Santiago Diaz told a press conference on Thursday.

Mr Lasso won a shock victory against Unes candidate Andres Arauz in the second round of the election earlier this month. The leftwinger was ahead in most polls before the vote, having received the most votes in the first round held in February.

But Mr Arauz faced a barrage of smears and attempts to link him to Colombian paramilitary organisations from political opponents desperate to prevent Ecuador becoming the latest Latin American country to swing back to the left.

Mr Diaz called on the CNE to oversee the process, saying that he hoped for transparency and recount of the votes.

Mr Arauz polled some 4,236,515 votes, equating to 47.64 per cent of those cast. Mr Lasso won with 4,656,426 votes, which was 52.36 per cent of the total.

According to Ecuadorian electoral law, the CNE has three days to resolve the complaint.