NICARAGUA: Former Marxist revolutionary and U.S. Cold War foe, Daniel Ortega edges towards a dramatic comeback victory in country's Presidential election

Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary and U.S. Cold War foe, edged toward a dramatic comeback victory in Nicaragua's presidential election, early results showed on Monday (November 6). With returns in from almost 15 percent of polling stations, the 60-year-old Ortega had just above the 40 percent mark that would seal a first-round win. Thousands of Ortega's Sandinista supporters set off fireworks and raced through the streets waving black-and-red party flags. Senior party members hugged each other, some of them crying with joy, at a party in the capital Managua. Conservative rival Eduardo Montealegre, who was Washington's favoured candidate, trailed on 33.3 percent from Sunday's (November 5) vote, although he gained some ground from earlier returns and insisted he would force a runoff vote next month. Ortega, who would almost certainly lose if the race goes to a second round, would also win outright with 35 percent support and a lead of at least 5 points over his closest rival. U.S. officials in Nicaragua said they found irregularities in voting on Sunday and refused to back the election until the returns were in and problems of polling stations opening late and closing early were investigated. "There is already a statement from the United States delegation that is saying that these elections were not transparent and it's inciting other organisms of observation in the same sense," said Roberto Rivas, head of Nicaragua's top electoral body, who insisted it was a clean, transparent election. Montealegre refused to concede defeat and said the election was loaded with irregularities. "That announcement (with latest results) does not show a tendency," he told supporters. "It signifies that no party has reached 40 percent and that we're still at less than 5 percent difference." It was Ortega's third comeback attempt since 1990, when his revolutionary Sandinista government was toppled by voters weary of a deep economic crisis and a brutal 1980s civil war against Contra rebels trained and financed by the United States. Although he has toned down his leftist rhetoric since the 1980s, Washington worries Ortega will team up with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban President Fidel Castro in the anti-U.S. bloc of Latin American leaders if he wins. Ortega was on 40.04 percent and Jose Rizo of the ruling Liberal Party trailed way behind in third. Results were trickling in slowly and no more updates were expected until 8:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. EDT, 1400 GMT). If he fails to win outright, Ortega is expected to lose a runoff as many conservatives who voted for Rizo would switch to Montealegre. Victory for Ortega would end 16 years of rule by conservative governments that enjoyed U.S. support and pushed through free market reforms but failed to tackle crippling poverty. The conservatives had kept Ortega out of power by fielding a single candidate every time but they were divided at this election, giving him his best chance of a triumphant return. Ortega is Nicaragua's most divisive figure, despised by many but backed by those who still identify with Sandinista health and education programs that briefly eased poverty before the civil war and a U.S. embargo wrecked the economy. Critics still remember the bloodshed, rations, hyperinflation and hard-line policies under Sandinista rule.

ITN Source | November 6, 2006

Tags:. .rival. .refused. .latin. .dramatic. .divisive