Daniel Ortega Leading Nicaragua Election

AP | November 6, 2006

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Leftist Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega appeared headed for victory Monday in his longtime quest to regain power, 16 years after a U.S.-backed rebellion helped drive the former Marxist revolutionary from office.

Early results from Sunday's presidential election gave Ortega with a strong lead over his four rivals. His victory, if confirmed by final results, would expand the club of leftist Latin rulers led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, who has tried to help his ally by shipping cheap oil to the energy-starved nation.

Ortega, who led Nicaragua from 1985-1990, has repeatedly said he is no longer the communist guerrilla who fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels, a war that left 30,000 dead and the economy in shambles.

But while he has toned down his leftist rhetoric and pledged to continue free-trade policies, the United States remains openly wary of its former Cold War foe, once a staunch supporter of the Soviet Union. Washington has threatened to withhold aid to the nation, the second-poorest in the hemisphere.

The U.S. Embassy said it was too soon to "make an overall judgment on the fairness and transparency of the process."

"We are receiving reports of some anomalies in the electoral process," including polling stations that opened late and closed early, the embassy said.

Roberto Rivas, president of the Supreme Electoral Council, dismissed the U.S. statement.

"We have promised the Nicaraguan people transparent elections, and that's what we've done," he said. "I think there were enough observers to witness that."

With 15 percent of polling stations counted, Ortega had 40 percent of Sunday's vote, compared with 33 percent for his closest challenger, the wealthy banker Eduardo Montealegre.

Three others rivals were well behind: Sandinista dissident Edmundo Jarquin, ruling-party candidate Jose Rizo and former Contra rebel Eden Pastora.

To win outright and avoid a runoff, the leftist Sandinista leader needs just 35 percent of the vote and a five-point advantage over his closest opponent.

Ortega has already made three unsuccessful attempts at re-election.

Ortega's supporters flooded the streets, setting off celebratory fireworks, waving the party's red-and-black flag and swaying to the candidate's campaign song, set to the tune of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance."

Montealegre brushed aside Ortega's lead, saying: "No one has won here. The Nicaraguan people, in a runoff, will determine the next president."

Ortega has already made three unsuccessful attempts at re-election.

Ruling party spokesman Leonel Teller warned that electoral authorities were "inciting something could end in blood and violence."

At stake are millions of dollars in potential investments, many from foreign companies drawn to Nicaragua by its cheap labor, low crime rates and decision to join the new Central American Free Trade Agreement.

"We are playing with the stability of the country," said Jose Adan Aguirre, president of the Chamber of Commerce.

Nicaraguans hiked miles through the jungle, paddled canoes down remote rivers and waited under a searing sun to vote on whether to return Ortega to power.

Overall the voting was peaceful, but many polling stations opened late, leaving long lines of people waiting to cast their ballots. After the polls closed, angry voters pounded on shuttered doors, shouting at officials inside to let them vote.

After voting Sunday, Ortega said he was confident there wouldn't be a runoff.

"Nicaragua wins today," he said, climbing into his Mercedes sport utility vehicle and driving away with his wife.

Polls have shown Ortega would have trouble winning a December runoff. While he has a loyal base of support, many voters still have bitter memories of Sandinista rule, in which homes and businesses were seized.

Ortega has repeatedly said he has changed. In fact, his vice presidential candidate was once one of his biggest enemies: Jaime Morales, who served as the spokesman for the Contras.

As Sandinista leader, Ortega seized Morales' six-bedroom estate, but they reconciled after Ortega offered to pay Morales for his former home - now Ortega's campaign headquarters.

Marvin Lopez, a 46-year-old doctor waiting in a long line at the same polling station where Ortega voted, said he feared an Ortega win would bring back uncontrollable inflation and conflict.

"I don't want to return to a dictatorship, the misery, the abuse of families' rights," he said.

Waiting at the end of the line was 26-year-old student Gema Amaya Larios, who said she woke up at dawn to cast her vote for Ortega.

"He's the only one who will give the people what they need," she said. "Everyone else just cares about their own interests."

Amid fears of fraud, armed soldiers kept guard at polling stations monitored by more than 18,000 observers - including three former presidents: Jimmy Carter, Peru's Alejandro Toledo and Panama's Nicolas Ardito Barletta.

In a veiled reference to the United States and Venezuela, Toledo condemned "any interference, wherever it comes from, whether it be Asia, Europe, North America or Latin America."

"Let the citizens of all countries determine their own destiny," he said.

Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel on Sunday accused the United States of "blackmail and pressure to twist this process" in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan presidents can't serve two consecutive terms, and President Enrique Bolanos steps down Jan. 10.

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