Nicaragua election may return Ortega to power

Former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega could win a return to power in Nicaragua today in a presidential election closely watched…

Former Marxist guerrilla Daniel Ortega could win a return to power in Nicaragua today in a presidential election closely watched by the United States, his Cold War enemy.

Sixteen years after he was thrown out of office by voters tired of a civil war with US-backed Contra rebels, the Sandinista leads conservative rivals in opinion polls in his third comeback attempt.

Although Mr Ortega has toned down his leftist rhetoric since the 1980s, Washington is worried he will team up with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez as part of the anti-US bloc of Latin American leaders if he wins.

Disenchanted with the failure of often corrupt pro-market governments to fight poverty, about a third of Nicaraguans support the 60-year-old Mr Ortega.

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A beautiful land of tropical rain forests, volcanoes and lakes, Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the western hemisphere and many are nostalgic for Sandinista agriculture, health care and education programs that alleviated poverty.

Supporters are willing to forget the war, rationing, economic collapse and isolation under Mr Ortega's rule throughout the 1980s.

Mr Ortega's main challenger is wealthy former banker Eduardo Montealegre, a fan of late US president Ronald Reagan, who aggressively backed Nicaragua's Contra rebels at the height of the Cold War.

There were long lines outside polling stations when they opened at 7am (1300 GMT) but voting was delayed at many because ballot boxes were not ready. Voters sat on buckets and plastic chairs under the hot sun, and many complained of bad organization.

Candidates need 40 per cent of the vote, or 35 per cent and a five-point lead, to win outright today and most opinion polls put Mr Ortega close to that.

But the leftist, a divisive figure who was once jailed for robbing a bank to fund the revolution, will struggle to win a second-round runoff if he falls short.

The right is split between Mr Montealegre and rival conservative candidate Jose Rizo but is expected to unite to defeat Ortega in any second round.