Full results give Correa referendum win

[Judi Lynn]

SA Time: Friday, May 20, 2011 9:05:37 PM
Full results give Correa referendum win
May 20 2011 at 02:37pm

Quito - President Rafael Correa won Ecuador's vote on judicial and media reforms, but by a smaller margin than forecast, near-final results showed on Wednesday.

Though the outcome will buoy opposition leaders - who had been widely expected to take a heavy beating in the referendum - the result means Correa can still press ahead with a shakeup of courts and other changes likely to increase his power.

“Correa will continue to dictate the government's policy agenda, and it remains unlikely the fractured opposition - however emboldened by a close race - can pose a real challenge to him,” Eurasia Group analyst Risa Grais-Targow said.

~snip~
“Still, Correa will emerge from this referendum with a stronger hand over the country's institutions, and his popularity levels remain strong at 57 percent.”

http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/full-results-give-correa-referendum-win-1.1071742
Reuters