Ecuador's President Suffers 'Painful' Election Setback

Leftist Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa acknowledged a "painful" setback in mayoral elections as early results Monday showed the opposition decisively winning races in the capital Quito and other major cities.

Seen as an important test of popularity for Correa, a populist in the mold of the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Sunday's polls delivered big victories to center-right candidates, according to early results and exit polls.

"It's good we've had this shakeup," Correa said. But "it's very painful what happened in Quito, and dangerous."

"Probably we've been resting on our laurels," he added.

Since first being elected president in 2007, Correa has moved Ecuador into a leftist alliance with Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia.

He antagonized Britain and the United States by granting asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at Ecuador's London embassy, and has clashed repeatedly with Washington, paring back military and diplomatic ties.

With Venezuela now beset with opposition street protests, Correa told reporters he was concerned about possible "governability" problems in Ecuador.

"I don't know Mauricio Rodas, but I do know the people behind him, and those people are counting the days before the government falls," he said of the winner in Quito.

"They wouldn't hesitate in shooting the president. These people are in direct contact with the fascist right in Venezuela," he added.

Rodas, a center-right lawyer, dismissed the notion that his election might lead to instability. "I will not stray from my objectives," he said.

The ruling party incumbent in the capital, Augusto Barrera, conceded defeat to Rodas, 39, who had a 20-point lead at 58 percent with a quarter of the votes tallied.

"We recognize... the results as they are being broadcast," said Barrera with Correa at his side at the ruling Alianza Pais (Nation Alliance) party headquarters.

In Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city with 2.3 million people, opposition Mayor Jaime Nebot was way ahead of his Correa-backed rival Viviana Bonilla, polling 63 percent with 10 percent of the ballots counted.

Cuenca, with some 712,000 people, went to opposition candidate Marcelo Cabrera, who ousted ruling party incumbent Paul Granda, 44 to 36 percent, according to results of the electronic voting.

Exit polls by three independent firms also projected opposition victories in all three cities.

Correa also bet heavily on a victory in provinces in the Amazon basin and in the south, where indigenous communities have fiercely resisted government-backed oil and mining projects.

Partial results showed opposition candidates leading in voting for prefects in four of the six Amazonian provinces.

The elections were a surprising reversal for Correa, denting his aura of invincibility.