Ortega elected to disputed second term

Daniel Ortega's landslide win in Nicaragua's presidential and legislative elections on Sunday will allow the former Marxist guerrilla leader to continue with populist policies largely funded by a growing private sector and supported by the Catholic Church and Evangelist groups, but rejected by the opposition.

With turnout around 75 percent, Ortega ended up taking 63 percent of the vote, giving him a second consecutive term in office. (Ortega also served from 1985-90.) He was able to run for re-election thanks to a 2009 ruling by the Supreme Court - which his Sandinista party controls - that did away with a ban on consecutive terms in the impoverished Central American nation.

Backed by Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez, Ortega has cut poverty in this largely agrarian country, and is credited with allowing the private sector to operate freely. Pre-election polls predicted that he would win the race with enough votes to keep him from facing a runoff.

Chávez congratulated Ortega on his victory, while the secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, said: "Nicaragua has moved toward democracy and peace."

OAS and EU observers had complained of irregularities in the voting procedure but said these flaws had no impact on the final outcome.

Opponent refutes results

Ortega won more than double the tally for his closest rival, conservative radio personality Fabio Gadea. Gadea supporters accused Ortega's party of manipulating the process on Sunday by stuffing ballot boxes and making it hard for conservatives to cast their vote. Gadea has said he will not accept the result.

Critics also say Ortega has made the country too dependent on Venezuelan petro-dollars, and that he has deliberately weakened democratic institutions. That said, since winning the 2006 election with just 38-percent support, Ortega has overseen economic improvements and cemented his hold on Nicaragua. About 57 percent of its people now live below the poverty line, compared to 65.5 percent in 2005, according to government and World Bank statistics.

The economy grew 4.5 percent in 2010 and is expected to expand four percent this year, making it one of the best performers in Central America, even though it is still the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, behind Haiti.

Critics worry that the Supreme Court's decision lifting the ban on consecutive presidential terms is evidence that Ortega plans to solidify his rule, just as Chávez has in Venezuela.

Roberto Ortega Hegg of the Central American University says: "There is a shadow of doubt over the results. There is considerable mistrust toward the Supreme Electoral Council, whose members were kept in their posts by a unilateral decision by Ortega, when such a decision should have been made by the National Assembly."

Ortega Hegg adds that the opposition's campaign, which sought to polarize the vote, may have backfired, encouraging the Sandinistas to mobilize grassroots support.