Leftist Ortega ahead in Nicaragua vote count

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Nov 6: Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist revolutionary who led Nicaragua in a 1980s civil war against US-trained rebels, appeared headed for a dramatic comeback victory in presidential election, early results showed.

With returns in from 7.2 per cent of polling stations, Washington's old US Cold War foe had 40.85 per cent of votes, just above the 40 per cent needed to seal a first-round win.

Supporters of Ortega's Sandinistas set off fireworks in Managua and senior party members celebrated to music at a party yesterday. Eduardo Montealegre, a conservative who was Washington's favored candidate, was in second place with 32.7 per cent and Jose Rizo of the ruling Liberal Party trailed way behind in third.

To avoid a second round, candidates need to win with either 40 per cent or more of the vote or 35 per cent support and a lead of at least 5 points over the closest rival.

Ortega is seeking to end 16 years of rule by conservative governments that enjoyed US support and pushed through free market reforms but failed to tackle Nicaragua's crippling poverty.

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 civil war against Contra rebels trained and financed by the United States.

He is a 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 US embargo wrecked the economy.

''He is the only one who looks out for the poor. All the others are just for the rich,'' said William Medina, a lawyer standing in line to vote at a Managua polling station. An Ortega victory would be a heavy blow to the US government, which had warned Nicaraguan voters of a possible cut in aid an investment if the leftist was returned to power.

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-US bloc of Latin American leaders if he wins.

Ortega led the revolution that toppled US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 and then built an alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba as this beautiful Central American nation of tropical rain forests, volcanoes and lakes became a Cold War battleground.

Critics still remember the bloodshed, rations, hyperinflation and hard-line policies under Sandinista rule.

''One day they took away my son, and I never saw him again,'' said 66-year-old Maria Elena Sanchez, crying yesterday as she recalled how her 17-year-old son was drafted by the army from their home in the central town of Masaya to join the war.

''All I learned from that time is to be frightened of the Sandinistas and to hate them,'' said Rolando Lopez, 44, in the northern mountain town of Esteli, a Sandinista stronghold in the revolution and scene of fierce fighting in the 1980s.

REUTERS