Bolivians went to the polls today in a recall vote President Evo Morales is expected to win, but the result was unlikely to resolve a standoff with his rightist rivals.
Regional governors who have led opposition to Mr Morales' leftist agenda also face the recall, meaning they too could be voted out. A surprise Morales defeat would force him to call new elections in the natural gas-rich nation.
Mr Morales, a former coca farmer who is Bolivia's first Indian leader, hopes a victory will allow him to forge ahead with reforms including nationalizations, land redistribution and a constitution that aims to give more power to the poor.
The bitter power struggle, which has exposed divisions between the wealthier east and more indigenous west, has forced Morales to put many reforms on hold.
"From tomorrow, there will be a great meeting of our peoples ... to continue to deepen the process of change," Mr Morales said after casting his ballot in a village in the coca-growing Chapare region, where he still keeps a coca plot.
Draped with garlands of flowers, coca leaves and popcorn, Mr Morales called his rivals separatists who only cared about their own economic interests.
The opposition governors are angry that Mr Morales has cut their share of windfall natural gas revenues, and accuse him of governing only for his supporters.
But with Bolivia roiled by pro- and anti-government protests, and most of the governors expected to survive, few people expect the recall vote to restore calm in South America's poorest country.
"They'll remain deadlocked (and) each side will use it to become more deeply entrenched in their positions," said Kathryn Ledebur, director of private think-tank the Andean Information Network, saying she expected Mr Morales to win.
Mr Morales vows to seek consensus with governors who survive and any new ones and to push through his new constitution.
Campaigning has been tense and observers fear controversy over voting rules could spark violence. Mr Morales needs 46.3 per cent of the vote, but the eight regional governors need more than 50 per cent to keep their jobs.
Polls show Mr Morales remains popular, especially among the two-thirds of Bolivia's 10 million people who are poor.
Since taking office in 2006, he has raised taxes on foreign energy firms and nationalized telecommunications and mining businesses to fight poverty.
Opposition to Mr Morales is concentrated in four lowland regions that are home to Bolivia's vast gas fields and rich farmland.
His foes paint him as a left-wing extremist who is in the pocket of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, the vocal leader of a group of socialist leaders in Latin America.
The polls are due to close at 4pm local time (2000 GMT), with the first exit polls expected around two hours later.