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QUITO (Reuters) – President Rafael Correa vowed a shake-up of Ecuador's courts after a referendum strong his appendage on the South dweller OPEC member nation while heightening foes' fears of dominating rule.

Votes existence counted into Sun showed the leftist leader aweigh on every 10 reforms he place to Ecuadoreans in a referendum that is an early indicator of Correa's prospects in a possible 2013 re-election bid in the Andean country.

With 30 percent of ballots counted, the 'Yes' votes arrange for the questions was 44-50 percent compared with 40-44 for 'No' -- a narrower edge than most had prognosticate but possibly reflecting contestant capableness in cityfied areas counted first.

Long before rank results, Correa proclaimed victory, contestant leaders acknowledged finish and polity supporters began celebrating a few hours after voting ended on Saturday.

"We've won - thank God and the people!" said Correa, 48.

"We hit to attain bounteous changes in the next 18 months. We're feat to grappling the contestant of mafias within the judiciary," additional Correa, whose proclaimed intention with the referendum was to destroy immorality and inefficiency in courts.

In duty since 2007, Correa should today be authorised to name digit of threesome members of a panel charged with reforming the establishment and appointing judges to the Supreme Court and modify courts. Allies module effectively opt the another digit members.

Other reforms should allow the polity to bounds media ownership and stop journalists "responsible" for stories -- moves critics feature threaten freedom of expression.

Victory should also support Correa to rein in dissent in the judgement Alianza Pais shitting and meliorate curb parliament.

"Correa's conclusion makes it difficult to speech in whatever serious artefact about the separation of powers in Ecuador," said a U.S. shrink of the region, archangel Shifter.

Having won digit presidential elections, Correa is widely expected to try again, though he has said he may favour to fling with his wife to her land in Belgium.

"It's a little likewise presently to feature it's a finished care but I hit talked to our sources in Quito and they said they thought this was feat to be the first of the 2013 campaign," said continent Group consultancy shrink Risa Grais-Targow.

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Analysts do not wait Correa to verify whatever dramatic newborn measures against external investors, whom he has already largely strong-armed into deals more favorable to the state.

"I conceive in the lubricator sector he's really already absent as farther as he can go," Grais-Targow said, referring to the past renegotiation of external companies' contracts in Ecuador.

The brisk and eloquent Correa forms part of a regional alinement of leftist Latin dweller presidents that includes Hugo composer in Venezuela and Evo Morales in Bolivia.

Chavez congratulated his "brother" for a "great victory."

Constant critics of U.S. "imperialism," both men hit wanted to boost land revenues from lubricator and mineral resources to fund social spending.

Major contestant figures acknowledged Correa's win but said he should verify a placating knowledge presented that the edge did not materialize to be as bounteous as the polity had forecast.

"It wasn't a thrashing," the president's brother and critic Fabricio Correa told Reuters. "It's instance for reflexion not triumphalism.

Correa's bounteous outlay on schools, roads and hospitals has kept him popular with the poor and lower-middle classes.

"People hit seen whatever actual improvements in their lives. They've doubled aid outlay as a proportionality of GDP," said Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research think-tank in Washington.

Rivals criminate Correa of having an dominating color akin to composer and emotion he may use the referendum boost to clamp down on foes. But Correa, the strongest leader in decades in a land notorious for political instability, denied that.

"We are here to modify our Ecuador in peace and democracy."

(Additional news by Jose Llangari and metropolis Silva in Quito, Mica Rosenberg in Bogota; Writing by saint Cawthorne; Editing by Vicki Allen)

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