La Paz , Bolivia ( CNN ) -- Bolivian President Evo Morales handily won re-election Sunday , unofficial preliminary results showed . With 91 percent of votes tallied , Morales ' Movement for Socialism party won 62 percent of the vote , according to exit polls . The conservative Progress Plan for Bolivia party came in second with 23 percent , according to preliminary numbers . The resounding victory was not unexpected , as Morales , the country 's first president of indigenous descent , was leading in pre-election polls and was widely expected to win . The victory `` shows that it is possible to change Bolivia based on the vote of the Bolivian people , '' Morales said in a victory speech Sunday night . The large margin and possible majorities in congress and the senate are an embrace of his government 's policies , Morales said . The resounding win `` compels me to accelerate these changes , '' he said . The leftist leader , an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez , said earlier Sunday that he hoped for a record-breaking turnout . `` I urge all the patriots to go vote at the electoral tables so that Bolivia beats not just the national , but the international participation record , near 90 percent , '' Morales told reporters Sunday . Morales nationalized important sectors in Bolivia , including mining . The move for the state to protect the country 's natural resources and increased social programs have made Morales popular among the nation 's large population of poor . A referendum earlier this year changed the constitution to allow a president to run for re-election . Seven other candidates challenged Morales . His closest rival was former governor of Cochabamba state Manfred Reyes Villa . In a speech Sunday night , Reyes Villa talked about the future , though he did not explicitly concede the election . `` The polarization of the country continues , '' he said , referring not only to the political right and left but to the fractured opposition . The various parties who ran against the current government should put national interest ahead of personal interest , Reyes Villa said . `` We must keep fighting to strengthen our democracy , '' he said . Thousands of police and hundreds of international observers were deployed across Bolivia . No major incidents were immediately reported . `` Morales is going to win , and he 's going to win handily . He does n't need to commit fraud , '' said Eduardo Gamarra , a Bolivian political science professor at Florida International University . `` The guy is popular and it 's all constructed on this anti-American populist rhetoric , which is very politically popular . '' In addition to president , Bolivians also voted for a vice president , 130 congressmen and 36 senators . CNN 's Arthur Brice and journalist Gloria Carrasco contributed to this report for CNN .
President Morales was widely expected to win re-election . The opposition has accused the government of rigging elections and says it will boycott Sunday's vote. Constitution amended earlier this year to allow a president to run for re-election .