Ecuador's Correa eyes broader change after re-election

[Judi Lynn]

Ecuador's Correa eyes broader change after re-election
AFP Updated February 19, 2013, 10:56 pm

QUITO (AFP) - Fresh from a landslide re-election victory, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa is hoping to follow up with the sweeping legislative win needed to clear the way for deeper socialist changes.

If the leftwing activist can secure an absolute majority in Ecuador's National Assembly he would have free rein to regulate the media, redistribute land and make other controversial changes.

The election process for the 137 assembly seats up for grabs is complex, and it was unclear early Tuesday how long it will take before definitive results are in, but polls suggest Correa will achieve his goal.

"Nobody is going to stop this revolution. We are making history," Correa told a crowd from the balcony of the presidential palace on Sunday, after clinching a new four-year term, his third and constitutionally his last.

More:
http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/16178472/ecuadors-correa-eyes-broader-change-after-re-election/

[Judi Lynn]

1. Correa's party likely to control new Congress in Ecuador

Posted on Monday, February 18, 2013
Correa's party likely to control new Congress in Ecuador
Jim Wyss | The Miami Herald

QUITO, Ecuador — Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, who easily won re-election Sunday, also appears to have a majority in the National Assembly.

With 32 percent of the congressional votes counted Monday, national legislators from Correa's Alianza Pais Party have won 51 percent of the vote, versus 12 percent for Guillermo Lasso's CREO Party. While the bulk of the 137-seat assembly is made up of regional legislators, if the voting trends hold, Correa would have the majority he says he needs to deepen his "Citizen's Revolution."

As the National Election Council continued to tally votes, Correa's lead expanded. With 71 percent of the vote counted, Correa had 56.9 percent and Lasso, 23.1 percent.

Former military officer and deposed President Lucio Gutierrez was in third place with 6.53 percent.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/02/18/183471/correas-party-likely-to-control.html#storylink=cpy

(Short article, no more at link.)