President Evo Morales has claimed victory in Bolivia's presidential election and is set for a second five-year term in office. Exit polls suggest that Mr Morales has secured at least 61 percent of the vote, defeating conservative rival and former governor Manfred Reyes Villa.

Speaking to followers from the balcony of the presidential palace, Bolivia's first indigenous Indian leader said he was happy to be re-elected and see his supporters gain majority control of the national Congress.

Vowing to expand state control over the economy, Mr Morales said he could "accelerate the pace of change" now that his Movimiento Al Socialismo (Movement Towards Socialism) party will hold up to two-thirds of the seats in both the Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

President Morales, an Aymara Indian, is hugely popular among the Indian majority that supported a constitutional reform earlier this year to allow him to run for a second consecutive term. The president has promised the indigenous population more direct benefits from profits generated from the country's gas reserves.

President Morales by Alain Bachellier (flickr)