Exit polls suggest President Evo Morales of Bolivia has narrowly lost a referendum to allow him to stand for a fourth term in office.
One poll suggested that 52.3% voted against the proposal to amend the constitution, while another suggested it was 51%.
But his Deputy said that Bolivia’s first Head of State of indigenous origin could still win, as official results trickle in.
The change would have let Mr Morales remain in power until 2025.
Meanwhile, opposition supporters have been celebrating the referendum result in parts of the main city, La Paz.
The BBC reports that the opposition leader, Samuel Medina, urged Mr Morales to “recognise the results” and focus on solving Bolivia’s problems in his remaining time in office instead of trying to run for another term.
However, Vice President, Alvaro Linera, said the results so far were a “technical tie.”
He urged people to wait for the official results saying that any celebrations by the opposition were premature.
“Opinion polls, especially exit polls, make mistakes,” he told reporters.
“They don’t take into account the vote abroad. They don’t go to the more remote locations, where there is more support for our socialist movement.
“It’s highly likely that the numbers shown by the opinion polls would be very different from the reality,” he said.
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