Voting is under way at around 11,274 polling stations across
Nicaragua to choose the country's new president.
Some 3.6 million registered voters are expected to cast ballots
from 07:00 local time (13:0 GMT) to 18:00 (24:00 GMT) at polling
stations in the country's 153 municipalities.
There are 5 candidates competing for the presidency. The latest
opinion polls show left-wing Daniel Ortega, who gained 30-34
percent, with a clear lead over his nearest rival Eduardo
Montealegre, a wealthy former banker who got 22-25.5 percent of
vote. Jose Rizo from the right-wing Constitutionalist Liberal Party
is in the third place with 17-20 percent of the vote.
According to Nicaragua's electoral laws, candidates need 40
percent of the vote, or 35 percent and a 5-point lead, to win
outright. If this does not happen, a second round is supposed to be
held 40 days later.
The elections, which will also choose the vice president and a
90-member single chamber parliament, are being watched by 17,000
local and international observers.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2006)
