QUITO (AFP) – Leftist Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa scored a big political victory when early official returns and private exit polls showed voters had approved his controversial reform proposals in a national referendum.

The National Election Council announced, after a quick count of the votes, that the 10 measures put on popular vote had received approval ranging from 44.9 to 50.7 percent.
According to data released by the Santiago Perez polling firm, the initiatives received even stronger popular support -- from 61 to 64 percent of the vote.
A Cedatos Gallup survey gave the reforms 57-percent approval, with 43 percent voting against them.
Correa was quick in claiming victory.
“Today we made an important step toward peace, democracy and a new motherland,” an elated Ecuadoran leader told reporters. “The truth and the Ecuadoran people have been the winners in this.”
He said his data showed the official proposals had won by at least a 20-percent margin, insisting the plebiscite was “a vote of confidence” in his in his government.
Even a controversial proposal aimed at ending bullfighting, a popular sport in Ecuador, appears to have passed, with 47.9 percent of voters giving it a thumbs-up and only 40.1 percent voting no.
Ecuador is one of Latin America's foremost bullfighting sites, hosting an industry that brings in some 50 million dollars per year. Some 30,000 jobs depend directly on the sport, industry officials say.
If the exit poll results are officially confirmed, the referendum will mark a sixth major political victory for Correa in his four-year rule.