AFP - Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa was re-elected to a second term in office in the first round of his country's elections last week, authorities said Saturday.
   
Correa was leading by 23.3 percent with 89.7 percent of votes counted, putting a victory out of reach for his rival Lucio Gutierrez, electoral officials said.
   
Gutierrez, a retired army colonel and president 2003-2005, has said he has "proof of a monstrous fraud" in the voting process, a charge the electoral commission has rejected.
   
In a television address on Saturday, Correa accused opposition leaders of trying to destabilize his government and called on his supporters to take to the streets.
   
"I am calling ... in a totally peaceful way for the three million voters who backed us to go on the streets and defend democracy" Correa said.
   
The National Electoral Board said Correa was leading with 51.8 percent of the vote against Gutierrez' 28.5 percent.
   
About 816,000 votes still must be counted, the board said.
   
About 10.5 million Ecuadorians were eligible to vote in the April 26 election.
   
Gutierrez has also accused the Correa administration of "stealing" hundreds of votes, amid fears the 46-year-old may be paving the was for a rule that will extend long into the next decade.
   
International election observers have criticized Correa's "dominant" media presence in the run up to the vote, which they said damaged the poll's fairness.
   
But European election observers reported the voting process was "organized ... orderly and enthusiastic," and that the country's "electoral framework had improved" for a transparent poll.
   
Since coming to power in 2006, Correa has proven controversial because of his close ties to regional leftists like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
   
The US-educated economist has taken a tough stance with investors and refused to repay foreign debt, in moves welcomed by supporters who blame the effects of the economic crisis on foreign liberalism.
   
"The only fraud here is called Lucio Gutierrez ... he is part of a strategy to that has already been tried in other countries," said Correa.
   
"We have to be very alert, we cannot allow this country to fall into the hands of a hand full of unscrupulous people."