RNC Gold Inc fka RNC

[amarksp]

Ortega Reaches 30% in Nicaraguan Race
July 10, 2006
- Voter support for former head of state Daniel Ortega increased last month in Nicaragua, according to a poll by Borge y Asociados. 30.1 per cent of respondents would back the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) member in this year’s presidential election.

Eduardo Montealegre of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance - Conservative Party (ALN-PC) is second with 24.4 per cent, followed by José Rizo of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) with 21.6 per cent, Herty Lewites of the Sandinista Renewal Movement (MRS) with 17.3 per cent, and Edén Pastora of Christian Alternative (AC) with one per cent.

The survey was completed before the death of Lewites on Jul. 2. The MRS has announced that economist Edmundo Jarquín would be its new presidential candidate, with singer-songwriter Carlos Mejía Godoy as his running mate.

In 2001, the PLC’s Enrique Bolaños won the presidential election with 56.3 per cent of the vote. The PLC and the FSLN have traditionally been the dominant parties in the Central American country’s political scene. Montealegre is a former member of the PLC, and Lewites was expelled from the FSLN.

In March 2005, the FSLN officially designated Ortega as its presidential nominee. Ortega governed from 1985 to 1990, but was a losing candidate in the 1990, 1996 and 2001 ballots.

On Jul. 8, Ortega criticized the American government’s immigration policies, saying, "They can raise as many walls as they want, but they will not be able to stop Latin Americans from getting there."

The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 5. In the event no contender receives 40 per cent of all cast ballots, the first place finisher can only avoid a run-off by holding a five-point advantage over the closest rival.

Polling Data

Who would you vote for in the presidential election if the candidates were these?

Jun. 2006
May 2006
Feb. 2006

Daniel Ortega (FSLN)
30.1%
28.4%
18.3%

Eduardo Montealegre (ALN-PC)
24.4%
26.5%
21.7%

José Rizo (PLC)
21.6%
17.1%
--

Herty Lewites (MRS)
17.3%
14.8%
27.3%

Edén Pastora (AC)
1.0%
1.3%
--



Source: Borge y Asociados
Methodology: Interviews with 1,008 Nicaraguan adults, conducted from Jun. 20 to Jul. 2, 2006. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.