Special general elections were held in Ecuador on 20 August 2023 to elect the President of Ecuador, members of the National Assembly, and to decide on two referendums. The elections were triggered by the invocation of muerte cruzada, which dissolved the National Assembly on 17 May 2023. A run-off election was held on 15 October 2023 to elect the President after no candidate secured the required threshold to win in the first round. Incumbent president Guillermo Lasso was eligible for a second term, but he announced on 18 May that he would not seek re-election in response to his impeachment.

The officials elected—to both the executive and legislative branches—will serve the remainder of the current presidential and legislative terms (2021–2025), beginning on 25 November 2023. A regular election for a full four-year term is expected to take place in early 2025. A national referendum on oil exploitation in the Yasuní National Park and a local referendum on metallic mining in the Chocó Andino area were held on the same day. The assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio—11 days before the first round—made international headlines.

Advancing to the 15 October run-off, Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Movement secured first place with 33% of the vote, while Daniel Noboa of the National Democratic Action came in second with 24%. Noboa's second-place finish was considered surprising and an upset, with his debate performance seen as a key factor in his rise in popularity. Noboa ultimately defeated González in the runoff election, securing 52% of the vote, a result similar to Guillermo Lasso's victory in 2021. At 35 years old, he became the youngest president in Ecuador's history.

On 17 May 2023, a day after he presented his defense in an impeachment process against him, President Lasso invoked the muerte cruzada mechanism provided for in Article 148 of the 2008 Constitution to dissolve the National Assembly, bringing forward legislative and presidential elections.

On 18 May, Diana Atamaint, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), announced 20 August 2023 as the tentative date for the legislative election and the first round of the presidential vote. The CNE had until 24 May to finalize the electoral calendar.

On 13 June, Luisa González was en route to register her presidential candidacy with the National Electoral Council with her supporters and president of the Citizen Revolution movement, Marcela Aguiñaga, when they were attacked with pepper spray and tear gas by the National Police. She was treated at a Quito medical center after flushing her eyes from the pepper spray. The National Police claimed to have used chemical agents to protect security and public order because of the hostile behavior of González's supporters.

Less than two weeks before the election, on 9 August 2023, candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated after a campaign rally in Quito at the age of 59. He is the first presidential candidate to have been assassinated in the country since Abdon Calderon Muñoz's assassination in 1978. The assassination of Villavicencio made international news, prompting condemnation of the attack and condolences by foreign countries as well as the Organization of American States, who called for an investigation. He was replaced on the ballot by a fellow journalist, Christian Zurita, keeping Villavicencio's running mate Andrea González.

The general election has been perceived to be largely overshadowed by narco politics and violent crime.