Off the wire
• Roundup: Kurdish-led SDF advances against IS in major offensive for Syria's al-Raqqa  • Urgent: FBI chief says no change to conclusion over Clinton's personal email server  • Leipzig, Schalke victorious in German Bundesliga  • Ingolstadt sack coach Markus Kauczinski  • Wolfsburg promote Ismael as head coach  • WHO decries surging malaria cases in South Sudan  • Egypt detains 30 Brotherhood supporters over assassination attempts  • "Dotor Strange" rules North American box office  • Kenya denies UN report of troops' illegal trade in Somalia  • 100 parties join Paris Agreement: UN official  
You are here: 　 Home

Nicaraguans go to polls in general elections

Xinhua, November 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Nicaraguans went to the polls on Sunday in general elections to elect a president, vice president and legislators.

Some 3.8 million Nicaraguans are eligible to vote in a contest widely expected to see the nation's popular president, Daniel Ortega, reelected to a third consecutive term.

First Lady Rosario Murillo, who currently serves as official government spokesperson, is running for the vice presidency.

Voting was progressing smoothly, according to local media reports.

An international observer mission from the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) observed voting in the department of Esteli in northwest Nicaragua, as did Guatemala's ex-president Vinicio Cerezo, news website 100% Noticias said.

The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) also invited independent election observers from Latin American countries to accompany the day's proceedings, including the former foreign affairs minister of Honduras, Patricia Rodas.

"So far, the process is progressing in total liberty ... and with a laudable harmony between the different political parties working together at the electoral desks," Rodas told the state news service El 19 Digital.

Some 14,581 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time in 153 cities in 17 provinces, according to the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). Enditem