LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian President Evo Morales faces the tightest election of his political career Sunday as he tries to extend his nearly 14 years in power.

The 59-year-old leftist still appears to lead in polls. But some surveys say he's likely to fall short of a first-round victory and could be vulnerable in a December runoff.

Bolivia's first indigenous president is credited with pragmatic economic stewardship that spread the Andean country's natural gas and mineral wealth among the masses. But he has lost support among voters frustrated by corruption scandals affecting his administration and his refusal to accept a referendum on limiting presidential terms. Critics also accuse him of a delayed response to vast forest fires this year that they blame on his push to develop areas with slash-and-burn agriculture.