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Edition: U.S. Article Comments (1) Slideshow Full Focus Photos of the week A selection of our top photos from the past week. Full Article Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Pacquiao in minor car accident, not injured 07 May 2011 Obama pays tribute to unit in bin Laden raid | 06 May 2011 River flooding begins to "wrap arms" around Memphis | 07 May 2011 Louisiana governor Jindal caught in birther flap 07 May 2011 Photos show three dead men at bin Laden raid house 04 May 2011 Discussed 168 Obama to make statement late Sunday, White House says 149 Concerns raised over shooting of unarmed bin Laden, burial 130 Obama at U.S. base to pay tribute to bin Laden mission Watched Bin Laden on tape Sat, May 7 2011 US releases video of bin Laden from compound Sat, May 7 2011 After bin Laden Obama focuses on economy Sat, May 7 2011 Ecuador's Correa heading to referendum win Tweet Share this By Eduardo Garcia and Alexandra Valencia QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was on course for a comfortable victory in Saturday's referendum on judicial and media reforms opponents say are a power grab undermining the Andean... Email Print Related News Ecuador leader's brother urges tolerance 12:55am EDT Analysis & Opinion Companies pay price for ignoring say-on-pay votes Obama and the vexed issue of immigration Related Topics World » 1 / 4 Ecuador's President Rafael Correa gestures during a news conference at the AP party center in Quito May 7, 2011. Credit: Reuters/Guillermo Granja By Eduardo Garcia and Alexandra Valencia QUITO | Sun May 8, 2011 12:55am EDT QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa was on course for a comfortable victory in Saturday's referendum on judicial and media reforms opponents say are a power grab undermining the Andean nation's democracy. "The Ecuadorean people have triumphed," said Correa, claiming victory shortly after polls closed. The national election council said its first "quick" sample count showed him ahead on all 10 questions by a range of 51-57 percent in what was essentially a vote of confidence on the charismatic Correa, 48, who has governed since 2007. The vote looks sure to strengthen the popular but domineering Correa's political grip on the OPEC member nation and put him in a good position for a re-election bid in 2013. Correa supporters danced and sang in jubilation at party headquarters into the night on Saturday. Two private polls of voters during Saturday's ballot showed all the reforms passing by about 57 and 60 percent, respectively -- a wider margin than the first official data. Some opposition leaders quickly acknowledged defeat. "It's indisputable he won," the president's brother and critic Fabricio Correa told Reuters. "But it wasn't a thrashing like they said. ... It's time for meditation not triumphalism." Correa has maintained high popularity among the poor and lower-middle classes thanks to big spending on schools, roads and hospitals. Rivals accuse him of an autocratic streak akin to his ally Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, and fear he could use the reforms to persecute opponents. "We're giving Correa too much power, but it doesn't matter. Someone has to tidy up this mess," said "Yes" voter Cesar Acosta, 67, echoing Correa's original justification for the vote to root out graft and inefficiency in courts. The most controversial two proposals set the foundations for a new justice system in which Correa will have more direct say over appointments. He argues that corrupt judges have to go so police can better fight crime in the nation of 14 million. "We have to make big changes in the next 18 months. We're going to face the opposition of mafias within the judiciary," Correa told state TV after claiming victory. Analysts say Correa's ability to control a new three-person panel charged with overhauling the justice system and appointing judges to the Supreme Court and lower tribunals will further concentrate power in the executive and limit checks. "I think he's tired of the constitution," former presidential aide turned critic Alberto Acosta told Reuters. BULL-FIGHTING BAN Other reforms include more controls on media, with whom Correa has been dueling regularly, and a ban on bullfights to the consternation of fans of the sport. The strongest leader in decades in a country notorious for political instability, Correa bristles at claims he is taking Ecuador down an autocratic route. "We are here to change our Ecuador in peace and democracy," he said. Not surprisingly, Chavez was the first foreign leader to congratulate his "brother" for a "great victory" in a Twitter message and official Venezuelan government communique. Ecuadoreans appeared to vote en masse, especially given the threat of a $25 fine for not casting a ballot. Local TV showed voters walking through muddy roads in the Amazon area, wearing indigenous outfits in an Andean province and lining up in front of polling stations in the Galapagos Islands. The flamboyant and voluble Correa forms part of a regional alliance of leftist Latin American presidents that includes Evo Morales in Bolivia as well as Chavez. They are fervent critics of U.S. "imperialism" and have sought to boost state revenues from their country's energy resources to spend on social projects. DEALING WITH DISSENT Correa is likely to feel emboldened, but his victory will also fuel criticism he wants to install communist-style rule in Ecuador, and that could cost him support among educated voters in Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest urban areas. Victory should allow Correa to rein in dissent in the ruling Alianza Pais movement and better control parliament. Analysts do not expect Correa to take any dramatic new measures against foreign investors, whom he has already largely strong-armed into deals more favorable to the state. "In the oil sector, the government has already extracted significant benefits. ... (It) will offer mining companies relatively generous terms in its initial contracts in order to attract foreign investment to help develop the nascent mining sector," Eurasia Group consultancy said. Correa's tough stance toward the media has fueled fears that reforms to limit media ownership and hold journalists "responsible" for stories will let him silence criticism. After the vote, Correa again lashed the "corrupt press" he said tried constantly to smear him. "There's no problem with opposition, but what they can't do is misinform and lie." (Additional reporting by Jose Llangari and Santiago Silva in Quito, Mica Rosenberg in Bogota; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Todd Eastham) World Tweet this Share this Link this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language, all capital letters or appear to be spam, and we review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. Comments (1) CAL59 wrote: Just one more instance of the abuse of democratic means to rape and undermine democratic principles and institutions -like the checks and balances among the executive, the legislative and the judiciary, on which they fundamentally rely-, just as Chavez in Venezuela and Morales in Bolivia; and all of this under the noses of the international community and institutions allegedly created to promote and protect democracy in the region, like the OAS, and the world, like the UN. May 07, 2011 10:25pm EDT -- Report as abuse See All Comments » Add Your Comment Social Stream (What's this?) © Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Analyst Research Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Super Lawyers Attorney Rating Service Reuters on Facebook Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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