--- description: Ecuador's main opposition candidate Guillermo Lasso has promised to evict Julian Assange from the country's London embassy title: Ecuador Presidential Hopeful Pledges to Evict Julian Assange image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fc1fd44638ddce6/6988b972428a9e353bcd5cd0/gettyimages-508571384.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Ecuador](/tag/ecuador/) ## Ecuador Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Ecuador's Opposition Candidate Says He Will Evict Julian Assange From the London Embassy by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2017 9:17 AM CUT  Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy where he continues to seek asylum following an extradition request from Sweden, on February 5, 2016 in London. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange speaks from the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy where he continues to seek asylum following an extradition request from Sweden, on February 5, 2016 in London.Chris Ratcliffe—Getty Images by [Joseph Hincks](/author/joseph-hincks/) ## Joseph Hincks Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 9, 2017 9:17 AM CUT Ecuadorians head to the polls for general elections on Feb. 19\. And if they end up backing the main opposition candidate Guillermo Lasso, Julian Assange could find his stay at the country’s London embassy coming to a halt. Lasso, the leader of the right-wing Creo-Suma party, has argued that hosting the WikiLeaks founder has become an unjustifiable expense, the _Guardian_ [reports](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/09/ecuador-julian-assange-embassy-notice-eviction "undefined"). “The Ecuadorian people have been paying a cost that we should not have to bear,” Lasso told the newspaper during an interview in Quito, “We will cordially ask Señor Assange to leave within 30 days of assuming a mandate.” Until recently, a Lasso victory seemed unlikely. However, ruling party candidate Lenín Moreno’s lead had narrowed to seven points in the latest poll and many forecasters tip Lasso to force a second ballot under Ecuador’s two-round system. Assange was given asylum by Ecuador in August 2012 and has lived in the country’s London embassy since. But according to the _Guardian_, even if the supportive ruling party retains power, he will be under pressure to leave. “Our staff have been through a lot. There is a human cost,” Guillaume Long, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister, told the _Guardian_. “This is probably the most watched embassy on the planet.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/"},"headline":"Ecuador's Opposition Candidate Says He Will Evict Julian Assange From the London Embassy","datePublished":"2017-02-09T09:17:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:13:19.114Z","description":"The Wikileaks founder has been living there for four and a half years","url":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/","keywords":["Ecuador","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fc1fd44638ddce6/6988b972428a9e353bcd5cd0/gettyimages-508571384.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph Hincks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-hincks/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1fc1fd44638ddce6/6988b972428a9e353bcd5cd0/gettyimages-508571384.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"UN Panel Rule That Wikileaks Founder Is Unlawfully Detained At Ecuadorian Embassy","caption":"UN Panel Rule That Wikileaks Founder Is Unlawfully Detained At Ecuadorian Embassy","creditText":"Chris Ratcliffe—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/ecuador/","name":"Ecuador"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/","name":"Ecuador's Opposition Candidate Says He Will Evict Julian Assange From the London Embassy"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What to Know About Julian Assange’s Legal Situation","description":"Wikileaks co-founder is being questioned Monday on a rape allegation in Sweden","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/cxbLD5ly/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-11-14T17:47:08.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cxbLD5ly.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/","duration":"PT1M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4664937/julian-assange-ecuador-embassy-guillermo-lasso-evict/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```