MANAGUA (AFP) -
Authorities
in Nicaragua on Friday set November 6 as the date for presidential and
legislative elections widely expected to see leftist President Daniel
Ortega vie for a third term.
Ortega's Sandinista National
Liberation Front party, born out of the 1970s rebel movement he helped
lead, has not yet officially declared its candidate.
But the
70-year-old incumbent leader, who was elected in 2006 and 2011 and
previously ruled from 1985 to 1990, is tipped to try to hold on to
office amid few apparent rivals.
In 2014, amid controversy, he
had a law passed that scrapped a previous limit of two consecutive
five-year terms for presidents. The legislation also gave him new
powers.
Nicaragua's High Electoral Council has told the 17 registered parties in the country to present their candidates.
In
addition to the president, the polls will choose the post of vice
president and the lawmakers in the 92-seat National Assembly. Their
five-year terms will begin in January 2017.
The date chosen,
November 6, means Nicaragua's elections will be taking place two days
before the United States holds its presidential election.
Ortega,
a former rebel, has positioned himself as an anti-American leader,
cultivating relationships with similarly minded leaders of Venezuela and
Cuba.
© 2016 AFP
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