The fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is hanging in the balance of a tight presidential election in Ecuador.
Assange could find himself turfed out of his home in Ecuador’s London embassy if the anti-Wikileaks opposition candidate for the presidency takes control.
Guillermo Lasso, currently polling second, could still snatch the presidency if the frontrunner fails to hit a 40% target.
He has made Assange, who was granted asylum by outgoing president Rafael Correa, an issue on the campaign trail.
Recently he said he would ask Assange to leave the embassy within 30 days of taking power.
Assange could then be arrested over claims he sexually assaulted two women in Sweden.
Ecuadorians went to the polls on Sunday – and officials in the South American nation are still counting up the votes.
Lenin Moreno, who comes from the same party as Correa, is current ahead in the polls, on just over 39%.
But if he fails to reach a 40% threshold, the election will proceed to a second round where only he and Lasso are candidates – and either man could triumph.
Regardless of who wins, Assange looks distinctly nervous, and is trying to shore up support on both sides of the Ecuadorian aisle.
In a post early this morning, Assange tweeted both lead candidates saying he was “happy to talk”.
It follows efforts to popularise a pro-Wikileaks hashtag campaign, #ElMundoConAssange, to pressure the new administration into letting him stay.
However, even if Moreno takes control Assange could find himself out of luck.
In an interview with the Russian state broadcaster RT, Moreno said that he does not support Wikileaks sharing political-explosive state secrets, and would expect Assange to stop.
He said continued asylum for Assange will be dependent on new conditions:
“And one of the conditions will be to not meddle into the policies of the countries we are friends with. The same as we do not meddle in their policies. Every country has the right to self-determination and sovereignty.”
He did not rule out evicting Assange if those conditions were not met.
