Leftist Bolivian President Evo Morales has celebrated his landslide election victory, promising bolder and faster reforms and hinting he might run for a third term.
Speaking to followers from the balcony of the presidential palace after exit polls put him over the top, Mr Morales said he was happy to be re-elected and see his supporters in full control of the national Congress.
‘By holding two-thirds of Congress, it is now my duty to accelerate the pace of change in Bolivia,’ he declared late Sunday.
He said exit polls had given him 63% of the vote, against 24-28% for his conservative rival and former governor Manfred Reyes Vilas.
Exit polls also confirmed Mr Morales' boast about Congress, giving his ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party two-thirds of the seats in the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.
If confirmed, Evo Morales, who came to power in 2006, would have the legislative numbers to pass laws without negotiating with the opposition.
Official results from the election were expected late Tuesday.
Sunday’s results mean that President Morales, a fiercely anti-US leader in the mould of his close ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, will have a free hand to deepen leftist reforms for the next five years.
Much of his support came from Bolivia's indigenous majority, which makes up 60% of the population and which is now embracing greater powers and pride after long being suppressed by the 40% minority of European descent.
Tensions between the president's supporters and opponents spilled over into deadly violence late last year, though they have subsided somewhat since the January 2009 referendum that knocked Reyes Villa and other ‘rebel’ governors from power.
