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Conservative claims victory in Nicaraguan election
But Ortega won't concede
October 21, 1996
Web posted at: 5:30 p.m. EDT (2130 GMT)
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (CNN) -- With more than a third of the vote counted in Nicaragua's presidential election, conservative Arnoldo Aleman on Monday claimed "overwhelming victory" over former leftist President Daniel Ortega.
Ortega refused to concede defeat.
Returns from about 36 percent of the precincts in the Central American country showed Aleman leading with about 48 percent versus about 39 percent for Ortega. Another 21 candidates shared the remaining votes.
Though the tally was incomplete, electoral authorities indicated it was enough to suggest an early trend. A runoff will be necessary if no candidate receives 45 percent of the vote.
Aleman, the former mayor of Managua, Nicaragua's capital, was running under the Liberal Alliance party.
Ortega, trying to make a political comeback, led the Sandinista movement that fought U.S.-backed Contra rebels and governed the country for 11 years before losing power in 1990 when Violeta Chamorro was elected president. She was ineligible for re-election.
'Premature' to claim victory
Confident of victory, hundreds of red-shirted Aleman followers gathered at Liberal Alliance headquarters to celebrate with music and dancing while they waited for results.
At Sandinista headquarters, visibly worried officials sought to put a brave face on the early results, saying the voting sample was small enough that the final outcome could still go either way.
"It's still very premature to say that someone won or lost. We ask the Liberal Alliance to display the same calm, to not yet indulge in triumphalist speeches," Ortega's campaign manager Alvaro Fiallos told reporters.
The vote marked the first time in Nicaragua that one democratically elected civilian government has transferred power to another.
Outgoing President Chamorro called it a "beautiful process" and thanked Nicaraguans for their patience in the poorly organized elections, which saw voters start lining up at 2 a.m. Sunday and stand in line for hours.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Nicaraguans head to polling booths - October 20, 1996
- CNN Travel Guide - Nicaragua
Related sites:
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- Nicaragua - Facts
- Nicaragua - A country study
- Nicaraguan Foundation for Democracy and Development (NFDD)
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