Ecuadorian president wins election handily

QUITO, Ecuador, April 27 (UPI) -- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has become that country's first president to win re-election in 37 years.

The U.S.-educated Correa won well more than half the vote in a weekend election, El Comercio reported Monday.

The leftist Correa won at least 54 percent of the vote, according to exit polls and local media, defeating former Ecuadorian president and one-time coup leader Lucio Gutierrez and other challengers.

The Sunday vote makes him eligible to run for another four-year term in 2013.