Factbox: Leftist Lenin Moreno claims victory in Ecuador presidential race

QUITO Leftist government candidate Lenin Moreno has claimed victory in a tight presidential election in Ecuador on Sunday, likely continuing more than a decade of leftist rule in the OPEC nation of some 16 million people.

Some background on Moreno:

* Born in Nuevo Rocafuerte, in the Ecuadorean Amazon, in 1953.

* Studied public administration at Ecuador’s Central University.

* Lost mobility in his legs after being shot during a robbery in 1998 while he out buying bread with his wife.

* After a difficult recovery, became a motivational speaker and wrote self-help books focused on humor as therapy.

* Was outgoing leftist President Rafael Correa’s vice president from 2007 to 2013.

* Moved to Geneva, Switzerland, to become the United Nations’ special envoy on disability in 2013.

* Promises to bolster social welfare in oil-rich Ecuador, with benefits for the disabled, single mothers, youth, and the elderly.

* Soft spoken and prone to singing during campaign events, Moreno has a more conciliatory style than mercurial president Rafael Correa.

* Married and has three daughters.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer and Alexandra Valencia- Editing by Girish Gupta and Michael Perry)