(Bloomberg) -- Evo Morales declared victory in Bolivia’s disputed presidential election and declared a state of emergency after saying there is a coup plot by his opponents.

“This is the fourth election we’ve won democratically,” Morales told reporters Wednesday. “I’m almost certain that with the votes from rural areas we’ll win in the first round.”

With 96% of ballots counted, Morales had 46% versus 37% for his main rival, Carlos Mesa. If Morales wins by more than 10 percentage points, he avoids the need for a December run-off, which he might lose against a united opposition.

The landlocked South American nation has seen mass demonstrations, violent clashes and arson attacks on public buildings, as rival supporters took the streets in major cities. Morales said the protests are a right-wing coup attempt with international support and called on his supporters to “defend democracy.”

The unrest in Bolivia comes after days of clashes in neighboring Chile, following a rise in metro fares, and more than a week of violence in Ecuador earlier in the month after the government increased fuel prices. Morales is the third leader in the region to declare a state of emergency this month.

Read More: Political Risk Revived in Latin America as Protests Spread

The opposition are accusing the government of fraud, after updates of a preliminary vote count were mysteriously suspended for 24 hours on Sunday night.

The president has strong support in the country’s more remote rural areas, where votes tend to be counted later, so his lead may widen as the final ballots are tallied.

Morales yesterday invited monitors from the Organization of American States and the European Union to verify that the vote had been fair. The OAS accepted his offer.

The nation’s dollar bonds maturing in 2028 rose 0.2 to cents 94.5 cents on the dollar.

Morales has presided over more than a decade of growth and falling poverty, but this election has been his closest to date. His respect for democracy was questioned after he ignored the result of a 2016 referendum, which would have restricted presidential term limits

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Bristow in Bogota at mbristow5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net

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