Some 14 million Ecuadorans began voting under tight security Sunday, choosing who will lead their violence-wracked Andean nation through its worst crisis in half a century.

Sixteen candidates are vying to become president, including hawkish young incumbent Daniel Noboa and his leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez.

The campaigns have been dominated by concerns about the moribund economy and cartel turf wars that have transformed Ecuador from one of the safest countries in the world into one of the most dangerous.

"The country is collapsing. The only thing I ask the new president is that they fix this mess," said 28-year-old businessman Luis Jaime Torres as he prepared to vote in capital city Quito.

Heavily armed soldiers were deployed to polling stations across the country as state emergency services reported "grave warnings" of an unspecified "possible attack against democracy" and election officials.

As voting got underway the only election-related infractions were some 20 people cited for breaking a strict three-day alcohol ban.

But the dangers are all too real. On the campaign trail the main........

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