Americas News
Nicaraguan elections 'in accordance with the law': OAS
By DPA
Nov 6, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Managua - General elections in Nicaragua were in accordance with the law, the head of the Organization of American States (OAS) observers mission said on Monday in Managua.

Sunday's election 'was peaceful, orderly, with high turnout and in accordance with the law,' Gustavo Fernandez said.

He said his judgement is based on the reports of the 200 observers that OAS deployed in Nicaragua.

The mission's final report shows most of the country's polling stations closed around 0030 GMT, around 30 minutes later than expected, and that 70 per cent of the 3.6 million Nicaraguans eligible to vote actually did so.

Only 2 per cent of polling stations saw people who could not cast their ballots although they intended to, but none of the tally sheets have been contested so far, Fernandez said.

With around 14 per cent of the votes counted, preliminary results show leftist Daniel Ortega receiving just over 40 per cent of the vote. Right-wing former banker Eduardo Montealegre was in second place with 33 per cent of the vote.

Montealegre earlier told CNN that there were 'anomalies' in the election.

'The important thing here is that we count every ballot and every ballot box so that everyone is calm and we can keep deepening the democratic process in Nicaragua,' he said.