La Paz , Bolivia ( CNN ) -- Incumbent Evo Morales declared victory in Bolivia 's presidential vote Sunday . Official results have not been announced , but a national exit poll placed Morales in the lead with 61 % of the votes . Victory would mean Morales , of the Movement for Socialism party , would lead the country until 2020 in his third consecutive term as President . `` We thank the Bolivian people for this new triumph , '' Morales told a crowd of cheering supporters in the Bolivian capital of La Paz , vowing to make his country the energy capital of South America . `` This democratic triumph of the Bolivian people is dedicated to all the people of Latin America and of the world who fight against capitalism and against imperialism , '' he said . `` This triumph , brothers and sisters , is dedicated to Fidel Castro ( and ) dedicated to Hugo Chavez , may he rest in peace . '' Morales , 54 , is the South American country 's first indigenous President . Four other candidates were vying for Bolivia 's presidency in Sunday 's vote . As vote tallying began , analysts said that victory was likely for the leftist Latin American leader , given his performance in the polls before the election and Bolivia 's economic growth since he took office . `` The distance between Evo Morales and the rest is so great , that obviously I do n't expect a surprise , '' economic analyst Carlos Toranzo told CNN en EspaÃ±ol . `` Most voters are in favor of Morales because they want the economic boom of recent years to continue . '' Morales , a former union leader for coca growers , won his first election with a campaign that promised a government focused on the needs of the country 's poor . But as an ally of Chavez , opponents have accused him of using the system to concentrate power . Last year , a court ruled that he could run again , deciding that his second term in office was his first under the country 's new constitution . This time around , he ran under the slogan , `` With Evo , we 're doing well . '' Since Morales took office , the country has seen economic growth while many of its neighbors have struggled . Last year , the GDP grew 6.5 % , according to government statistics . But some Bolivians say they have n't seen the economic boom cause much of a benefit for their pocketbooks . The normally bustling streets of Bolivia 's capital were quiet Sunday . Voting laws prohibit cars from driving on election day . Voters told CNN en EspaÃ±ol that security and economic issues were key as they cast their ballots . `` Bolivia has transformed impressively . I was walking on the streets , talking with the citizens , and all of them are informed . All of them want to vote , '' said Alvaro Colom , a former Guatemalan President who 's heading a mission of election observers from the Organization of American States . Voting went smoothly Sunday , with no major reports of irregularities , Colom said . Morales enjoys widespread popular support at home but has run afoul of some U.S. officials with his outspoken criticisms of capitalism and U.S. drug policies . When he first ran for office , he declared himself a `` nightmare '' for the United States . In 2008 , he expelled the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration from Bolivia . Last year , he kicked out the U.S. Agency for International Development , accusing the agency of meddling and conspiring against his government . He told a convention of farm workers in 2011 that he feared U.S. authorities would try to plant something on his presidential plane to link him with drug trafficking . Amid rumors that former NSA contractor Edward Snowden could be on his presidential plane last year , authorities in several European countries refused to let the aircraft land to refuel on its way from Moscow back to Bolivia . Snowden , who faces espionage charges in the United States for leaking classified documents , was n't on the plane , but Morales had said he would be willing to give him asylum . CNN en EspaÃ±ol 's Carlos Montero reported from La Paz . CNN 's Catherine E. Shoichet reported and wrote from Atlanta . Journalist Gloria Carrasco and CNN 's Mariano Castillo contributed to this report .
NEW : President Morales says he 's dedicating his presidency to Fidel Castro , not Chavez . ` ` We thank the Bolivian people for this new triumph , '' President Evo Morales said . An exit poll says Morales won a third term with 61 % of votes . Morales is a leftist leader who was once a union leader for coca farmers .