The violence, which the outgoing government blames on drug gangs, reached a crescendo during the campaign with the murder of anti-corruption candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot dead while leaving a Quito campaign event in August.
He is the son of multimillionaire banana magnate Alvaro Noboa, who himself ran unsuccessfully for president numerous times.
"So while the first reaction is positive, because he's a pro-business candidate, pro-business and pro-markets can mean two different things."
Both have pledged to beef up security at ports and airports, hot spots for drug smuggling.
About a quarter of the 13 million Ecuadoreans obliged to vote are between the ages of 18 and 29.
Persons:
Ecuadoreans, Fernando Villavicencio, Daniel Noboa, Luisa Gonzalez, Rafael Correa, Gonzalez, Alvaro Noboa, Guillermo Lasso, Zulfi Ali, Ali, he's, Correa, Noboa, Alexandra Valencia, Rodrigo Campos, Julia Symmes Cobb, Diane Craft
Organizations:
Voters, PGIM, Correa's Citizens, National Democratic, Thomson
Locations:
QUITO, Quito, Guayaquil, New York