Bolivia electoral court confirms Evo Morales's poll win

Bolivia's top electoral court has confirmed President Evo Morales's victory in the presidential polls of 12 October.

Mr Morales of the left-wing Movement Toward Socialism got 61% of the vote, comfortably beating his closest rival, centre-right candidate Samuel Doria, who received 24.5%.

Mr Morales will now serve a third consecutive term until January 2020.

In a BBC interview he ruled out running for a fourth term in office.

Opposition politician and former president Jorge Quiroga, who came third in the presidential poll, said there had been fraud to inflate the numbers of those supporting Mr Morales.

"There's no doubt he has support, but he wants to show that he has more than he actually has, that his support hasn't dwindled, when everyone knows it has," he said.

The electoral court said a recount would be held at some polling stations in the provinces of Oruro and Santa Cruz, where there had been "irregularities", but they said the recount would not substantially change the final poll result.

Mr Morales, Bolivia's first indigenous president, has governed the country since 2006.

World Bank figures suggest Bolivia's gross domestic product has tripled since he took office to over $30bn (£18.6bn) in 2013.

The percentage of the population living in poverty has dropped from 60% in 2006 to 45% in 2011.

Mr Morales's government has financed his social programmes though a combination of revenue generated by Bolivia's main export, natural gas, and fiscal prudence.

He remains widely popular among indigenous people who make up almost two thirds of the country's population.

His critics accuse him of authoritarianism and of wasting money on dubious projects, warning that Bolivia's growing prosperity could come to an abrupt end should the price of its raw materials drop.

The electoral court has not yet given an official result for the congressional election, also held on 12 October.