MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Exit polls show Bolivians approved new constitution

Bolivian voters approved a new constitution on Sunday to give the indigenous majority more power, let President Evo Morales (first elected indigenous president) run for re-election and give him a tighter control over the economy.

Exit polls showed that indigenous groups in South America's poorest country largely backed the new constitution with an estimated support of 60%. The new constitution will give the Indigenous majority more seats in Congress and greater clout in the justice system. It also officially recognizes their pre-Columbian spiritual traditions and promotes their languages. "A new country is being founded for all Bolivians" Morales told a cheering crowd in front of the presidential palace in La Paz on Sunday night. However the conservative opposition accuses Morales of pushing the new constitution to grab more power as he will now be able to run for a second consecutive term in office in an election later this year. Bolivia was shaken by violent anti-Morales protests last September as opponents feared the president would break up large landholdings in wealthy eastern provinces where the European-descendent elite dominate. After protesters stormed government buildings and blocked highways, Morales watered down the land reform element of the draft constitution and agreed to a two-term limit on the presidency. Despite those concessions, many mixed-race people in the fertile eastern lowlands rejected the charter on Sunday and the "no" vote prevailed in four of Bolivia's nine provinces, according to the exit polls. In Bolivia, the official results will take weeks to count, but if they confirm the 60% win for the constitution, that is a narrower win margin than the 67% victory Morales took in a recall election last year. That may embolden the opposition to fight implementation of some parts of the new constitution. The 50-page document grants Indian communities the right to use ancient traditions in sentencing criminals and it will subject judges, including those on the Supreme Court, to popular votes instead of approval by Congress. It also says the state should have control over natural resources -- from rich natural gas deposits to vast tracts of agricultural land. Since taking office three years ago, Morales has nationalized Bolivia's vast natural gas reserves, and taken over mining and telecommunications firms.