Nicaraguans Vote on Whether to Bring Back Ortega
By MARC LACEY
MEXICO CITY, Nov. 5 — Nicaraguans went to the polls today to choose a new president in a five-way contest that primarily focused on one contender: Daniel Ortega, the former Marxist president who fought the American-backed contras in a bloody war in the 1980’s.
Mr. Ortega, 60, has failed in three previous attempts to regain power. Each time, he has been unable to convince enough of the population that he had changed from the revolutionary firebrand he was when he led the country from 1985 to 1990.
But this time, Mr. Ortega has been ahead in public opinion polls throughout the campaign and also stands to benefit from a change in election rules pushed through by his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, that lowered the threshold for victory. To win this time, a candidate needs 35 percent of the vote plus a five-percentage-point lead over the nearest opponent.
Previously, candidates needed 40 percent of the vote to gain the presidency. Mr. Ortega fell short of that in 1990, 1996 and 2001.
If Mr. Ortega does not manage to squeeze out a first-round victory and is forced into a runoff next month, political analysts expect him to lose, because the country’s strong anti-Ortega opposition would no longer be divided.
Washington has keenly followed the race, with Bush administration officials making no secret of their distaste for a return of Mr. Ortega and suggesting that economic aid would suffer if he won.
Paul A. Trivelli, the American ambassador to Nicaragua, has called Mr. Ortega “a tiger who has not changed his stripes.”
Mr. Ortega does have the backing of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who has sent subsidized oil to Nicaragua as a sign of support for an Ortega administration. Mr. Chávez has embraced a number of left-wing Latin American leaders of whom Washington is wary.
Today, the Venezuelan vice president, José Vicente Rangel, accused Washington of “blackmail and pressure” in trying to sway the results, according to The Associated Press.
“My little heart is with these elections,” he said. “And as you all know, the heart is located on the left side of the human body.”
Mr. Ortega was the subject of fierce attacks by his rivals, who came from across the political spectrum but agreed in their assessment that his return would lead Nicaragua down the wrong path.
In an attempt to stave off an Ortega win, rivals broadcast ominous television advertisements showing black-and-white images from the war years, with women crying and guns blasting. Memories of the war and the economic collapse brought about by it remain fresh for many Nicaraguans.
Mr. Ortega’s rivals have also traded blame for dividing the opposition. Eduardo Montealegre, of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance, a Harvard-trained banker who has the backing of the United States, and José Rizo, of the Constitutional Liberal Party, a former coffee grower who served as the country’s vice president from 2001 to 2006, urged each other to step down for the good of the country. Neither did.
One Montealegre advertisement warned citizens not to “waste your vote for a candidate who can’t beat Ortega.” The other two candidates in the race are Edmundo Jarquín, an economist and dissident Sandinista, and Edén Pastora, a former Sandinista rebel commander.
Mr. Ortega largely ignored his rivals, steering clear of a televised debate and rarely mentioning them by name. On the campaign trail, he spoke of love, peace and reconciliation, and he pledged to focus more on the country’s poor.
“Nicaragua wins today,” Mr. Ortega told reporters after voting this morning, predicting a first-round victory when the final results are announced early this week.
The elections were being monitored by about 18,000 election observers, including former President Jimmy Carter as well as former presidents from Peru and Panama.
Some Nicaraguans acknowledged faults in Mr. Ortega’s past rule — corruption was rampant, for instance — but said they were sticking by him. “Daniel robbed, but he robbed for the poor,” said Jackelin Alcose, 33, a secretary who was wearing a pro-Ortega shirt at a rally last week.
The anti-Ortega bloc, however, said they feared more suffering should Mr. Ortega become president again.
“Maybe there won’t be war but there will be an economic crisis even worse than what we already have,” said Anabel Rizo, 40, a physician’s assistant in Managua, the capital. She said she was planning to vote strategically to keep Mr. Ortega out of office.
Jill Replogle contributed reporting from Managua, Nicaragua.
MEXICO CITY, Nov. 5 — Nicaraguans went to the polls today to choose a new president in a five-way contest that primarily focused on one contender: Daniel Ortega, the former Marxist president who fought the American-backed contras in a bloody war in the 1980’s.
Mr. Ortega, 60, has failed in three previous attempts to regain power. Each time, he has been unable to convince enough of the population that he had changed from the revolutionary firebrand he was when he led the country from 1985 to 1990.
But this time, Mr. Ortega has been ahead in public opinion polls throughout the campaign and also stands to benefit from a change in election rules pushed through by his party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, that lowered the threshold for victory. To win this time, a candidate needs 35 percent of the vote plus a five-percentage-point lead over the nearest opponent.
Previously, candidates needed 40 percent of the vote to gain the presidency. Mr. Ortega fell short of that in 1990, 1996 and 2001.
If Mr. Ortega does not manage to squeeze out a first-round victory and is forced into a runoff next month, political analysts expect him to lose, because the country’s strong anti-Ortega opposition would no longer be divided.
Washington has keenly followed the race, with Bush administration officials making no secret of their distaste for a return of Mr. Ortega and suggesting that economic aid would suffer if he won.
Paul A. Trivelli, the American ambassador to Nicaragua, has called Mr. Ortega “a tiger who has not changed his stripes.”
Mr. Ortega does have the backing of President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who has sent subsidized oil to Nicaragua as a sign of support for an Ortega administration. Mr. Chávez has embraced a number of left-wing Latin American leaders of whom Washington is wary.
Today, the Venezuelan vice president, José Vicente Rangel, accused Washington of “blackmail and pressure” in trying to sway the results, according to The Associated Press.
“My little heart is with these elections,” he said. “And as you all know, the heart is located on the left side of the human body.”
Mr. Ortega was the subject of fierce attacks by his rivals, who came from across the political spectrum but agreed in their assessment that his return would lead Nicaragua down the wrong path.
In an attempt to stave off an Ortega win, rivals broadcast ominous television advertisements showing black-and-white images from the war years, with women crying and guns blasting. Memories of the war and the economic collapse brought about by it remain fresh for many Nicaraguans.
Mr. Ortega’s rivals have also traded blame for dividing the opposition. Eduardo Montealegre, of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance, a Harvard-trained banker who has the backing of the United States, and José Rizo, of the Constitutional Liberal Party, a former coffee grower who served as the country’s vice president from 2001 to 2006, urged each other to step down for the good of the country. Neither did.
One Montealegre advertisement warned citizens not to “waste your vote for a candidate who can’t beat Ortega.” The other two candidates in the race are Edmundo Jarquín, an economist and dissident Sandinista, and Edén Pastora, a former Sandinista rebel commander.
Mr. Ortega largely ignored his rivals, steering clear of a televised debate and rarely mentioning them by name. On the campaign trail, he spoke of love, peace and reconciliation, and he pledged to focus more on the country’s poor.
“Nicaragua wins today,” Mr. Ortega told reporters after voting this morning, predicting a first-round victory when the final results are announced early this week.
The elections were being monitored by about 18,000 election observers, including former President Jimmy Carter as well as former presidents from Peru and Panama.
Some Nicaraguans acknowledged faults in Mr. Ortega’s past rule — corruption was rampant, for instance — but said they were sticking by him. “Daniel robbed, but he robbed for the poor,” said Jackelin Alcose, 33, a secretary who was wearing a pro-Ortega shirt at a rally last week.
The anti-Ortega bloc, however, said they feared more suffering should Mr. Ortega become president again.
“Maybe there won’t be war but there will be an economic crisis even worse than what we already have,” said Anabel Rizo, 40, a physician’s assistant in Managua, the capital. She said she was planning to vote strategically to keep Mr. Ortega out of office.
Jill Replogle contributed reporting from Managua, Nicaragua.
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