Julian Assange is seemingly safe in his embassy bolthole for the foreseeable future after his preferred candidate looks set to win the Ecuadorian presidential election.
The Wikileaks founder had feared being booted out of Ecuador’s embassy in London by candidate Guillermo Lasso, which could have led to his arrest over longstanding allegations of sexual assault.
However, after a fraught and drawn-out contest, victory appears to have been handed to Lenin Moreno, the successor to outgoing president (and Assange ally) Rafael Correa.
The first round of voting in Ecuador’s election was so close that a second run-off ballot was called.
As of Tuesday evening, results appeared to have been announced showing victory to Moreno by 51% of the vote to 49%.
However, Lasso has yet to concede, and made allegations of electoral fraud which could see the contest dragged on even further.
Nonetheless, Assange started celebrating the prospect of years more inside the tiny central London embassy, and taunted Lasso over social media:
I cordially invite Lasso to leave Ecuador within 30 days (with or without his tax haven millions) #AssangeSILassoNO https://t.co/mU3HwPfP44
— Julian Assange (@JulianAssange) April 3, 2017
The jibe was a reference to an interview with The Guardian in which Lasso said one of his first acts as president would be to “cordially ask Señor Assange to leave within 30 days of assuming a mandate”.
It is unclear whether Lasso’s claims, or demands for a recount, will be heeded.
But Assange certainly seems to be breathing easy for the time being.
