- Title: Nicaragua's Ortega votes in presidential election he is easily seen winning
- Date: 7th November 2016
- Summary: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA (NOVEMBER 6, 2016) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS OF NICARAGUAN PRESIDENT DANIEL ORTEGA AND HIS WIFE AND RUNNING MATE ROSARIO MURILLO ARRIVING TO VOTE VARIOUS OF ORTEGA AND MURILLO RECEIVING BALLOT AND GREETING OFFICIALS AT VOTING CENTRE VARIOUS OF ORTEGA RECEIVING BALLOT AND WALKING TOWARD BALLOT BOX TO VOTE ORTEGA AND MURILLO VOTING MURILLO DROPPING VOTE ORTEGA PUTTING BALLOT IN BALLOT BOX ORTEGA AND MURILLO SHOWING THUMBPRINTS AFTER VOTING SANDINISTA MEMBERS APPLAUDING ORTEGA GREETING SUPPORTERS AFTER VOTING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NICARAGUAN PRESIDENT DANIEL ORTEGA SAYING: "I am so happy that today we Nicaraguans are ratifying our commitment to peace." REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) NICARAGUAN PRESIDENT DANIEL ORTEGA SAYING: "This is a vote for peace, for stability, for the security of Nicaraguan families," ORTEGA WALKING AWAY ORTEGA GREETING SANDINISTA PARTY MEMBERS
- Embargoed: 22nd November 2016 04:02
- Keywords: Daniel Ortega voting election presidential election third term
- Location: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA
- City: MANAGUA, NICARAGUA
- Country: Nicaragua
- Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA00157G13K7
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega voted on Sunday (November 6) in an election set to see him easily win a third consecutive term, after delivering years of steady growth that have overridden concerns he is trying to install a family dynasty.
The 70-year-old former Marxist guerrilla leader went to vote in Managua just before the polls closed at 6 p.m. (0000 GMT), driving his wife and running mate Rosario Murrillo to the voting station in a Mercedes jeep, where they were met by supporters amid a heavy security presence.
"This is a vote for peace, for stability, for the security of Nicaraguan families," Ortega said, wearing a red shirt and a cream-colored jacket.
Emerging as leader of the Sandinista movement that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979, Ortega served one term as president in the 1980s before being sidelined for years after a series of electoral defeats.
By the time he won Nicaragua's 2006 election, he had moved far enough from his Marxist roots to talk about Jesus Christ in his speeches.
Opponents have accused Ortega of trying to set up a "family dictatorship" since he appointed relatives to key posts, and after his Sandinistas pushed constitutional changes through Congress that ended presidential term limits in 2014.
But he has strong support, tapping into strong voter approval for a drop in poverty since he took office in 2007 in one of the poorest countries in the Americas.
Ortega's closest rival, Maximino Rodriguez of the center-right Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC, was polling at 8 percent support ahead of elections. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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