Ortega wins third term following questionable election

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has been reelected to a third term following a widely questioned election. 

MANAGUA, NICARAGUA (Catholic Online) - Sunday's election is being called a landslide victory for Ortega who garnered more than 60 percent of the vote. However, his victory is tainted with widespread allegations of fraud and intimidation. For now, it appears that Ortega's Sandinista party will retain their grip on Nicaragua.

His very act of running for another term as president appears to be against the national constitution, however a 2009 national supreme court decision said that he could in fact be run again thanks to a loophole. Currently, the constitution forbids consecutive presidential terms.
Critics say that it's just another sign that Ortega is setting himself up for one-man rule.

Ortega is known for leading the Sandinista rebels during their 70s era uprising against the previous regime. He has given a number of speeches where he has denounced US policy and imperialism. He is however, very charismatic and many of the poor credit him with improving their lives. His supporters remained fiercely loyal.

In 2010, Nicaragua's economy grew by 4.5 percent and projections show that it should continue growing through 2011. Despite the shocking poverty that abounds in that nation, this makes Nicaragua one of the top economic performers in Central America.

Part of the new found prosperity is that Ortega believes more in power than ideology. He has found a way to achieve more power by following capitalist policies rather than socialist ones. However no mistake should be made, he is still a socialist. Ortega has been credited with improving the quality of life of his people by providing them with education, healthcare, and in some cases microloans, and even livestock for their farms.

However, Ortega is not necessarily the savior of his people. Many alleged that he has taken advantage of the poor by putting many of them into low-paying unskilled work such as manufacturing jobs. While Nicaragua's booming manufacturing industry has helped the country as a whole, and helped Ortega to retain power, it is not doing as much for the lives of the individual worker.

Ortega continues to market himself as the champion of the poor and downtrodden, who make up the vast majority of that country's residents. The conservative elites while wealthy, are few in number and have little power in the face of Ortega and the Sandinistas. 

International monitors responsible for reviewing Sunday's election have made reports detailing what they suspect is widespread election fraud. It is very likely that Ortega, or at least the members of his party, have organized some degree of election fraud to guarantee the outcome in his favor. None of this, despite the country's improving economic condition, can do much for Ortega and his party's image.

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