Ecuadorean presidential candidate Andres Arauz said on Sunday he had won the day's presidential election, without saying whether he had enough votes to avoid a runoff.

According to a quick official count presented by the elections council, Arauz received 31.5 percent of the votes in the election, compared with 20.04 percent for his rival Yaku Perez.

The tally showed banker Guillermo Lasso with 19.97 percent of the votes, the elections council said.

Polling stations in Ecuador opened at 7:00 a.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Sunday, beginning the process that will bring in a new government and renew the National Assembly (Congress).

To win the first round, a candidate must get at least 40 percent of the vote with a 10-point lead over the second candidate.