Bolivian President Evo Morales is heading for a second term with a convincing victory in Sunday's election, exit polls suggest.

民意调查显示，玻利维亚总统Evo Morales在星期天的选举中强势胜出，有希望连任。

The left-wing Evo Morales is known as the "peasant president"

They suggest Bolivia's first indigenous土著的，本土的 leader polled at least 61% of the vote, defeating his conservative rivals.

Mr Morales had promised to expand state control over the economy and redistribute重新分配 profits from the gas industry if re-elected.

A referendum公民投票，请示书 earlier backed changes to allow presidents to seek a second term.

'Totalitarian' ambitions

Mr Morales, 50, won between 61% and 63% of the vote, avoiding a run-off, the exit polls suggest.

They indicate that his main rival Manfred Reyes Villa², a former governor, secured about 23%.

The BBC's Andres Schipani in La Paz says the exit polls民意调查 also suggest the president is set to take control of the upper house of Congress from the opposition³.

Official results are expected in the coming days.

Foreign observers have praised the election for its transparency透明度 and fairness.

Mr Morales's support base is chiefly among poor indigenous¹ people who account for some 65% of the population - in contrast to his challengers.

"He's changing things. He's helping⁴ the poor and building highways and schools," Veronica Canizaya, a 49-year-old housewife, told Reuters news agency before casting her vote at a public school on the shores of Lake Titicaca.

Analysts⁵ say a victory for Mr Morales will solidify凝固，团结 his dominance in Bolivian politics and weaken the split conservative opposition tied to the business elite⁷.

His other challenger was Samuel Doria Medina, a wealthy businessman.

Both challengers accused Mr Morales of having "totalitarian极权主义的" ambitions for the country and of being responsible for the rise in cocaine⁸ production, says our correspondent, Andres Schipani.

Mr Morales told crowds at his final campaign rally: "There are two roads: continue with change or return to the past."