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Reuters
Bolivia's first Aboriginal leader, Evo Morales, has been in power since 2006.
Bolivian President Evo Morales will face a runoff vote for the first time after failing to achieve his fourth consecutive term in the election.
Morales held voting rights from 38{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} to 45{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of former President Carlos Mesa, with some results from Sunday's election.
Bolivia's first indigenous leader has been in force since 2006.
Morales praised social policy as a divisive figure, but was accused of ignoring term limits.
If Morales, already the longest serving leader in Latin America, wins the runoff vote on December 15, he will be in power until 2025.
La Paz's BBC South American correspondent Katy Watson was the most uncertain election for Prime Minister Morales.
In a 2016 referendum, Bolivians declined to give up their presidential term limits.
However, his socialist movement (Mas) took the matter to the Constitutional Court, which dominates the president's favor, allowing him to hold his fourth term.
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AFP
Carlos Mesa was the second candidate to vote
Bolivians criticized environmental policy after the destruction of 4 million hectares of land in eastern Bolivia by wildfires.
Many questions were burning as to whether the presidential decree, which quadruple farmers' production, could be liquidated for agricultural production.
Winning all previous terms in the first round, Morales won more than 50{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of the winning vote, with 40{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} ahead of the nearest rival by 10 percentage points.
What's wrong?
The 59-year-old President Morales was widely praised for growing the Bolivian economy while reducing extreme poverty.
Many Aboriginal Bolivians continue to support him, as Mr. Mesa, who runs for the civil union (Comunidad Ciudadana) political alliance, embodies the white Bolivian elite and questions his dedication to the poor.
In the campaign, Mesa argued that as oil and gas imports declined, Bolivia should be "wiser and more rational" in the way it spends money, especially as it has a deficit of 7.8{7be40b84a6a43fc4fae13304fce9a2695859798abfc41afd127b9f8b21c5f9c5} of GDP.
But his message to reduce spending did not prove popular among poor voters, whose quality of life steadily improved under President Morales.