This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/06/daniel-ortega-third-successive-term-nicaragua-president-election

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Daniel Ortega poised for third successive term as Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega poised for third successive term as Nicaraguan president
(about 20 hours later)
Former Marxist guerrilla leader Daniel Ortega is expected toclinch a third consecutive term as president of Nicaragua, buoyed by steady economic growth which has trumped fears he is trying to install autocratic family rule. Daniel Ortega is set for a third consecutive term as president of Nicaragua after winning more than 70% of the vote in early counting from Sunday’s election.
Ortega and his running mate Rosario Murillo, who is also his wife, have nearly 70% support, according to a recent poll, suggesting strong voter approval for a drop in poverty in one of the poorest countries in the Americas since he took office in 2007. The 70-year-old former guerrilla fighter, who is running with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice-president, won 72.1% of the vote, with 66.3% of polling stations counted, the electoral board said.
Emerging as leader of the Sandinista movement that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, Ortega served one term as president in the 1980s before being sidelined for years. By the time he won Nicaragua’s 2006 election he was talking about Jesus Christ in his speeches. The announcement sent hundreds of his Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party supporters out into the streets of Managua to celebrate.
Opponents have accused Ortega of trying to set up a family dictatorship since he appointed relatives to key posts and after his Sandinistas pushed constitutional changes through Congress that ended presidential term limits in 2014. Ortega’s main opponent, the centre-right Liberal Constitutionalist party (PLC) candidate, Maximino Rodriguez, came a distant second with 14.2% , the board said.
“Ortega gets his way and he doesn’t care if he violates the rights of others,” said Maximino Rodriguez, candidate of the centre-right Liberal Constitutionalist party (PLC), Ortega’s closest rival, who is polling just 8% support. “I’m euphoric, thanking God for this opportunity, this triumph, so the people continue to reap benefits,” said Ana Luisa Baez, 55, a widow and mother of four who runs a small store out of her home.
“Supposedly he fought against the Somoza dictatorship, and the Sandinistas themselves regard Ortega as worse than Somoza,” he added, arguing Ortega was just trying to cling to power. “Thanks to the Sandinista revolution, I have faith I’ll be able to keep moving forward, because we are backed by a good government,” she added, as car horns honked and motorcycle riders wove through Managua’s Plaza de las Victorias waving red and black Sandinista flags.
There is no obvious challenger. The opposition has been in disarray since Pedro Reyes used the courts to wrest leadership of the Independent Liberal party (PLI), the main group, from Eduardo Montealegre in June. Speaking after casting his vote on Sunday evening, Ortega, a one-time foe of the US government, could not resist taking a potshot at Nicaragua’s northern neighbour just days before American voters decide on their next leader.
PLI congressmen who refused to accept the decision, calling Reyes a puppet of Ortega, were fired. “Now it’s us, the Nicaraguans, who decide, because we no longer have a single Yankee general here,” Ortega said, referring to years of US interference in the country’s affairs. “It’s we Nicaraguans who count the votes, this is a sovereign democracy.”
Hernan Selva, a 22-year-old engineering student and Ortega supporter, dismissed the complaints by Rodriguez as “the kicks of a drowning man” who fought the Sandinistas in the 1980s as part of a rightwing paramilitary force known as the Contras. Emerging as leader of the Sandinista movement that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, Ortega led the country during the 1980s, when a civil war against US-backed Contra rebels killed 30,000 people and unleashed an economic crisis.
US and international organisations voiced concern about Montealegre’s ousting and Ortega’s refusal to host international observers for the vote. Still, the World Bank acknowledges that, under Ortega, poverty has fallen almost 13 percentage points. After losing the 1990 election, Ortega managed to orchestrate a return to power when he became president in 2006.
Ortega, who has made few campaign appearances, has promised to defend his social and economic achievements if he wins. Opponents have accused the former fighter of trying to set up a “family dictatorship” by appointing relatives to key posts, and after his Sandinistas pushed constitutional changes through Congress that ended presidential term limits in 2014.
A substantial part of those gains have been funded by Venezuelan petrodollars, which have underpinned social programmes, helped private business and slashed energy costs. The opposition views Murillo’s vice-presidential bid as further evidence of Ortega’s power grab, particularly given that rumours have long swirled over his supposed health problems.
Ortega has also forged alliances with entrepreneurs, helping Nicaragua to achieve average growth of 5% in the past five years, buttressed by high prices for its meat, coffee and gold exports, as well as remittances and foreign investment. “Ortega gets his way and he doesn’t care if he violates the rights of others,” said Rodriguez, Ortega’s closest rival, polling at 8% support.
Despite some ups and downs, Ortega and the US president, Barack Obama, have maintained a relatively cordial relationship, demonstrating the 70-year-old’s dramatic shift from a leftist firebrand to a diplomat who maintains ties with a cold war foe. “Supposedly he fought against the Somoza dictatorship, and the Sandinistas themselves regard Ortega as worse than Somoza,” he added, arguing that Ortega was trying to cling to power.
However, democracy remains a touchy subject. A US bill known as the Nica Act seeks to condition financial assistance to Nicaragua on improvements in democracy, human rights and battling anti-corruption, leading Ortega’s government to decry “interference” from Washington in September. Hernan Selva, a 22-year-old engineering student and Ortega supporter, dismissed as “the kicks of a drowning man” the complaints by Rodriguez, who fought the Sandinistas in the 1980s as part of the rightwing paramilitary Contras.
Despite the US and international organisations having voiced concern about Ortega’s stranglehold on power, the World Bank acknowledges that poverty has fallen almost 13 percentage points under his rule.
A substantial part of those gains have been funded by Venezuelan petrodollars that have underpinned welfare programmes, helped private business and slashed energy costs. Ortega has also forged alliances with the business sector, helping Nicaragua to achieve average growth rates of 5% in the past five years.
Despite some ups and downs, Ortega and Barack Obama have maintained a relatively cordial relationship, demonstrating Ortega’s shift from a leftist firebrand to a diplomat who maintains ties with a Cold war enemy.
But democracy remains a touchy subject. A US bill known as the Nica Act seeks to impose conditions on financial assistance to Nicaragua on improvements in democracy, human rights and battling anti-corruption, leading Ortega’s government to decry interference from Washington in September.