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Ecuador leader claims poll win Ecuador leader claims poll win
(about 4 hours later)
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has claimed victory in elections for a new constituent assembly.Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has claimed victory in elections for a new constituent assembly.
Official results from the vote are yet to come, but exit polls show Mr Correa's party heading for a strong majority in the new assembly.Official results from the vote are yet to come, but exit polls show Mr Correa's party heading for a strong majority in the new assembly.
The president hopes the 130-member body will dissolve the national Congress, which he says is corrupt and inept, and increase the power of poor people.The president hopes the 130-member body will dissolve the national Congress, which he says is corrupt and inept, and increase the power of poor people.
But critics say the reforms will focus more power in the president's hands.But critics say the reforms will focus more power in the president's hands.
Mr Correa's political opponents accuse him of wanting to turn the South American country into a socialist state.Mr Correa's political opponents accuse him of wanting to turn the South American country into a socialist state.
Ecuador has thrown out three previous presidents in the last 10 years, and successive governments have been roundly criticised. 'Confusion'
'Change in the times' The 44-year-old president's Alianza Pais party hopes to win more than two-thirds of the vote necessary to implement the changes he has promised.
The president's party hopes to win more than two-thirds of the vote necessary to implement the changes he has promised. We accept this triumph with great humility and total responsibility. We know we cannot fail Ecuador President Rafael Correa
Put aside hate and rancour and join in the construction of a new country President Rafael Correa Mr Correa, a former economy minister who took office in January, said he had won a strong mandate.
In a speech broadcast at the start of voting, Mr Correa called for a strong mandate. "We accept this triumph with great humility and total responsibility," he said. "We know we cannot fail."
"Put aside hate and rancour and join in the construction of a new country," he said. The impoverished Andean nation has thrown out three previous presidents in the last 10 years, and successive governments have been roundly criticised.
"This is the reaffirmation of a change in the times, the light at the end of the tunnel." Opposition candidate Gilmar Gutierrez, brother of the ousted President Lucio Gutierrez, said his party would wait for the official results.
But the BBC's South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says more than 3,200 candidates and a complex voting system has left many voters undecided or simply confused.But the BBC's South America correspondent Daniel Schweimler says more than 3,200 candidates and a complex voting system has left many voters undecided or simply confused.
Among the candidates are several former beauty queens, a long-haired monk who walks the streets urging voters to take from the rich and a masked crime fighter known as The Punisher who says his face is covered because he is allergic to corruption.Among the candidates are several former beauty queens, a long-haired monk who walks the streets urging voters to take from the rich and a masked crime fighter known as The Punisher who says his face is covered because he is allergic to corruption.
There are evangelical Christians and Marxists, offering an array of measures, including a return of the death penalty and nationalising the country's oil industry.There are evangelical Christians and Marxists, offering an array of measures, including a return of the death penalty and nationalising the country's oil industry.