Ecuador holds a runoff presidential election on Sunday, and the race is in a dead heat as voters decide which candidate can better address the violence that drug trafficking has unleashed on the country.

Since 2023, Ecuador has been shaken by the assassination of a presidential candidate, the prison killings of six men accused of murdering him and a security crackdown after several prison riots and the on-air siege of a TV station.

Here is what to know as Ecuadoreans head to the polls.

Why is this election important?

President Daniel Noboa, who has pledged to tackle the security crisis with an iron fist, is facing re-election after 16 months in office. He is neck and neck with Luisa González, a candidate backed by Rafael Correa, the populist former president.

In the past five years, Ecuador has experienced an explosion in violence linked to drug trafficking. A justice system plagued by overcrowding, corruption and underfunding has become fertile ground for prison gangs allied with international drug cartels.

That has transformed the country from an oasis of peace in a turbulent region to an important player in the global drug trade, wreaking havoc on the lives of millions of Ecuadoreans.