LA PAZ, Bolivia — Exit polls issued early Monday showed Bolivia's Socialists taking a seemingly  insurmountable lead in the country's bitterly fought presidential election, a result that, if confirmed by the official tally, would amount to a massive popular rebuke of the right-wing forces that drove the left from power a year ago.

That vote ended with longtime socialist President Evo Morales fleeing to exile as opponents alleged electoral fraud and supporters decried a “coup.”.

The exit poll by the firm Ciesmori, with margin of error of less than 2 percent, indicated that Arce had claimed 52.4 percent of the vote, compared to Mesa’s 31.5 percent and Camacho’s 14.1 percent.

A second exit poll by a group of universities and Catholic institutions showed very similar figures, giving Arce 53 percent and Mesa 30.8 percent.

 If the exit poll numbers are confirmed by the official count, which was being tabulated slowly late Sunday, it would be more than enough to avoid a November runoff and claim outright victory.

Experts cautioned that the exit polls were not the same as the official count, of which less than 5 percent was tallied by midnight.

It would also mark a stunning defeat for the right, which sought to sell its actions to purge the socialists in Bolivia as a “liberation” of the country — a liberation its people seemed not to want.

Observers say officials in her government as well as senior members of the military brass could potential face charges from a new socialist government — though Arce told The Washington Post in an interview last week that he would not seek to influence the justice system.

Analysts say Mesa, running second in the polls, would become the favorite in a second round of voting next month, assuming the opposition to the socialists coalesced around him.

Santos Vallejo, 52, said the country’s bad economy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic led him to vote for the socialists.

During Morales’s three terms, the socialists were credited with a successful drive to turn Bolivia into a leader in the effort fight poverty in Latin America.

At the same time, they embraced a “Socialist lite” approach that maintained relatively business friendly policies — especially as compared to the more far more repressive and severe socialist government in Venezuela.

Murillo said the effort was meant to prevent “the return of dictators” — a clear reference to Morales, who was democratically elected three times before his controversial bid for a fourth term last year

In an interview last week with The Post, Arce said Morales would need to face the justice system to defend himself against “numerous” charges if he returned