Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa appeared set to emerge with a strong mandate to dissolve Congress and approve sweeping reforms after claiming a majority in yesterday's vote for an assembly to rewrite the constitution.
The left-winger joins allies Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales in seeking to use a national assembly to bypass restive lawmakers and push through reforms to limit the influence of entrenched political elites.
Official results were not yet available, but one government-linked exit poll and a quick count - in which a sample of the votes are tallied - showed Mr Correa's Alianza Pais party had won more than the 66-seat majority needed to control the 130-member assembly.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa
Mr Correa said his party could have secured around 80 seats in the new assembly and ministers forecast at least 70 delegates.
"We have won the mother of all battles," Mr Correa told supporters who danced and sang to tropical music with the president on a stage outside his party headquarters in Quito.
A powerful victory in the assembly would allow Mr Correa to shore up legislative control and push his proposals for "21st Century" socialism and a tighter state grip on the economy, spooking Wall Street investors.
The US-trained economist is highly popular for his rallying cry against career politicians as a corrupt mafia, but foes fear he will amass power and follow Mr Chavez by steering his poor Andean country away from free-market policies.
Investors are worried about his vows to renegotiate part of the country's $10 billion foreign debt, rework oil contracts in South America's fifth largest crude producer and review mining deals.
Mr Correa, who came into office in January, seeks to purge the influence of traditional parties, which are widely blamed for the instability that ousted three presidents in a decade.
He said his majority bloc would push to dissolve the Congress, to be replaced by a legislative committee while the assembly debates. But he said he would consult with other parties and dismissed fears of authoritarian reforms.