MANAGUA, Nicaragua — Venezuelan-backed President Daniel Ortega has only 36 per cent of the vote in the polls, and is facing growing accusations of abuse of power and corruption. But in a three-day visit here, I didn’t find anybody who doubts that he will easily win the Nov 6 elections.
Ortega will face a fragmented opposition of four candidates, led by former President Arnoldo Aleman and radio station magnate Fabio Gadea, with 23 per cent and 17 per cent of voters’ support respectively. Under the rules crafted by Ortega-controlled electoral bodies, Ortega could win the elections with only 35 per cent of the vote.
Ortega, 65, the former Sandinista guerrilla commander who ruled for a decade after the 1979 Sandinista revolution and was elected back to power in 2006, is widely believed to have violated the constitution in recent months by resorting to legal shenanigans to
