Correa 'wins' Ecuador polls

Ecuador's president has coasted to a strong win in national elections, with a lead of more than 20 per cent over his nearest rival, a quick count authorised by electoral authorities indicated.
Rafael Correa declared victory after he got more than half the vote in an eight-candidate field on Sunday, according to three separate exit polls.
That would make him the first president elected without a run-off vote in Ecuador in 30 years.
Correa danced, sang his party anthem and pumped fists with his close political advisers in his home city of Guayaquil.
"We will never defraud the Ecuadorean people," he told cheering supporters. "I think that's why we received such immense support. We've made history in a nation that between 1996 and 2006 never saw a democratic government complete its term."
Lucio Gutierrez, a former president, was in second place in the polls.
The country also held assembly and municipal votes, but with about 6000 seats at stake, the results were not expected on Sunday.
International observers from the European Union and the Organisation of American States reported no serious irregularities in the voting.
Since winning the presidency in November 2006, Correa has won three national votes, including a referendum that ushered in Ecuador's 20th constitution since its founding in 1830.