Partial results show the hand-picked candidate of socialist President Rafael Correa having a clear lead in Ecuador's presidential election. More than 77 percent of polling stations have been counted. About 39 percent of the votes goes to ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno while less than 29 percent to former banker Guillermo Lasso, the closest contender among seven opposition candidates. To avoid a runoff, Moreno needed to win a majority of the total vote, or get 40 percent while holding a 10-point lead over his nearest rival. "The government candidate Lenin Moreno declared victory in the first round, even before the official results come out," stated Al Jazeera's Daniel Schweimler reporting from Quito. "His supporters came out on to the streets and began celebrating, but that claim was immediately challenged by his right wing rival Lasso." Given the tight race, electoral authorities decided against announcing a quick count of results and instead appealed for patience as official results came in. But a count of statistically representative tally sheets nationwide by a respected private group stated would Moreno finish on top with 38.8 percent to 28 percent for Lasso, with a 1-point margin of error. But the opposition candidate showed no sign of throwing in the towel as hundreds of Lasso supporters gathered outside the National Electoral Council, saying they would remain there until a runoff was confirmed. "Lasso has been out saying that he is very confident about a second round win, and he quite possibly has a point because the supporters of the six candidates that seem to be eliminated from the race are more likely to support the right wing candidate," Schweimler stated. "This indicates the formation of a right leaning government along the lines of what we have already been seeing in elsewhere in Latin America." The outcome was indeed being watched closely in Latin America, where conservative leaders in Argentina, Brazil and Peru have assumed power in the past 18 months after the end of a commodities boom that boosted leftists like Correa. In related news, much of the interest in the election focused on what the outcome might mean for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has been living at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012. Moreno has indicated he would allow Assange to remain while Lasso vowed to evict the Australian activist within 30 days of taking office.