Nicaragua pres Ortega poised to win 3rd term

Associated Press ^ | 11/7/2011 | FILADELFO ALEMAN

[Hunton Peck]

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — One-time Sandinista revolutionary Daniel Ortega took a big early lead in presidential elections Sunday, according to preliminary results, amid reports of protests and international observers being blocked from participating.

Electoral council President Roberto Rivas said Ortega, the incumbent and heavy favorite, had almost 64 percent of the votes compared to 29 percent for his nearest challenger, Fabio Gadea. Conservative Arnoldo Aleman, a former president, was a distant third with 6 percent.

The result came with almost 7 percent of the votes counted, but Rivas said a quick count representative of the entire vote gave Ortega a big advantage as well. The methodology of the quick count was not available.

Polls closed with international election observers reporting problems with access to voting stations and with one national group of observers, Let's Have Democracy, reporting 600 complaints of voting irregularities, a handful of injuries in protests and 30 arrests.

The head of the Organization of American States observer mission, Dante Caputo, said its observers were been denied access to 10 polling stations, which would account for 20 percent of the statistical material they had planned to collect for their analysis.

"They have prevented our people from being there at the precise moment they should have been there and that is not remediable and will affect our ability to do our jobs," Caputo said. "We are navigating without radar."

The European Union said some of its teams also had problems but that they eventually were resolved and they were allowed access, according Luis Yanis, head of the mission.

The Ortega government, meanwhile, reported smooth voting in 90 percent of the country as supporters cheered and declared an Ortega victory before the first results had been reported.

Caravans of Ortega supporters took to the streets yelling "Daniel! Daniel!"

[Hunton Peck]

There's updated info in this story since an earlier article, posted here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2803468/posts.

Senators Harkin and Kerry must be proud of their boy.

[TBP]

There goes any shred of freedom in Nicaragua.

I’m a Contra too.

[mylife]

In other news, Hugo Chavez awaits the smell of sulfur.

[Hunton Peck]

Speaking of Sluggo, he probably bought this election as a gift for his buddy (using the money he saved on cancer treatments by getting them in Cuba, no doubt). Here's a column that goes into more detail about Ortega's return to and consolidation of power.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Hunton Peck. He’s a terrorist, and continues to support terrorism in the Americas.

[Texas Fossil]

One-time Sandinista revolutionary Daniel Ortega

What is wrong with AP writers? A 10 year old knows Ortega was/is/shall always be a COMMIE. That only ends at death.

[Texas Fossil]

I looked for the photo of John Fn Kerry shaking hands with Daniel Ortega.

Looks like John has scrubbed the web of that pic.

Miserable Vermin.

[Hunton Peck]

I found two renditions of it using Bing images. Both of them were on old Free Republic threads, so I'd better post it again to keep it alive!

(Saved it to my computer, too, just in case...)

[Texas Fossil]

Thanks for posting and saving.

I probably have it on a hard drive on one of my PC’s, but will add it to this one.

You know at one point he tried desperately to buy up all the copies of his book “The New Soldier” (bunch of long haired hippie freaks.) He did not succeed and some on-line copies exist. (have a copy on another computer)

Kerry is almost as loathsome a creature as Hanoi Jane.

I despise Traitors and there are plenty still around.

[Texas Fossil]

By the way, I did battle with the Sandanista’s little propagandists in that time frame, while I was living in NM. I was Republican County Chairman in a county in Western, NM and the Liberation Theology crowd came preaching their leftist trash among the locals where I lived.

I have no illusions about what a “real” Commie is. I knew that well long before the current Commie Bastard lived in the White Hut.

[Hunton Peck]

“I did battle with the Sandanista’s little propagandists in that time frame”

Then you are a public servant in the true sense, and not in the corrupted sense that liberal government careerists use to praise themselves. Thanks.

[Texas Fossil]

I was a local city councilman in a town of about 10k people for 2 years, prior to being county chairman. The registration in the county was 5 Dems to 1 Pubbie. (a mine union district)

A real education for an old West Texas farm boy.