Nicaragua's Ortega seeks re-election in questioned vote

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega seeks a fourth consecutive term in elections Sunday against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega seeks a fourth consecutive term in elections Sunday against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail.

The opposition has called on Nicaraguans to stay home in protest of an electoral process that has been roundly criticized as not credible by foreign powers.

Sunday’s election will determine who holds the presidency for the next five years, as well as 90 of the 92 seats in the country’s congress and Nicaragua’s representation in the Central American Parliament.

Ortega’s Sandinista Front and its allies control the congress and all government institutions. Ortega first served as president from 1985 to 1990, before returning to power in 2007. He recently declared his wife first lady and Vice President Rosario Murillo “co-president.”