MANAGUA, Nov. 8: (Xinhua) — Nicaragua’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) won a landslide victory in Sunday’s general elections, garnering 72.5 percent of the votes counted so far, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) announced on Monday.
The latest count was presented to the press by CSE President Roberto Rivas, based on results from 99.8 percent of the more than 14,000 voting stations across the country.
The results hand Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, 70, his third consecutive term, and his fourth overall, thanks to a sound economy, low unemployment and reductions in poverty.
They also give him a solid mandate to continue his government’s unique blend of pragmatic, pro-business policies.
First Lady and current official government spokesperson Rosario Murillo, 65, was his running mate.
Nicaraguan allies Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia, among other regional leaders, congratulated Ortega on his reelection, as did Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona.
“Dear Daniel and Rosario, I congratulate you on this great victory,” Cuban President Raul Castro said via his ambassador in Managua Eduardo Martinez.
“Our America can continue to count on you to advance the endeavor to achieve justice and prosperity for our peoples, and the much needed Latin American and Caribbean integration,” said Castro.
While the FSLN evidently enjoys popular backing, Nicaragua’s opposition has decried the Sandinistas’ hold on power.
Nicaragua’s opposition daily La Prensa countered claims by the CSE that turnout was high, with 68.2 percent of the country’s 3.8 million eligible voters going to the polls.
The daily published photos of “alleged ballot records,” saying they showed few people had voted, and added opposition parties “estimate abstention was higher than 70 percent.”
This is not the first time a husband and wife team have occupied the presidency and vice presidency in Latin America.
Former Argentinian President Juan Peron had his wife Isabel Peron as his running mate when he ran for his third term in 1973. She became president shortly after, when her husband died in 1974.
The Sandinista movement overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, ushering in a democratic era in the impoverished Central American country
