Daniel Ortega, candidate of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) for Nicaragua's Nov. 5 presidential election, leads polls with 33.8 percent of the vote, the polling firm M&R Consultants said on Friday.

Under electoral laws, a candidate must garner 35 percent of the vote outright to win the presidency, and have a clear lead of at least five points over all the other candidates. If this does not happen, a second round is supposed to be held 40 days after the general election.

If the final election results are inconclusive, Ortega will go into a second round run-off race for the presidency, against Eduardo Montealegre, candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance-Conservative Party (ALN-PC) coalition, who was in second place with 25.4 percent of the vote.

Jose Rizo, of the Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC), won 17.1 percent of the vote. He was followed by Edmundo Jarquin, of the Renewing Sandinista Movement (MRS), with 14.8 percent.

The poll interviewed 4,501 potential voters on Oct. 19-22, and had a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.

Another survey, conducted by the polling firm Borge and Associates, found Ortega with slightly more support, with 34.4 percent, and Montealegre with less at 23 percent. Rizo had 19.3 percent, and Jarquin had 10.9 percent.

The poll questioned 1,000 people on Oct. 15-22, and had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points.

Other polls in recent weeks have also shown Ortega leading the race.

Ortega, who led Sandinista rebels in the 1979 revolution that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza, was elected president in 1984. He lost the presidency in the 1990 elections and has failed in two successive polls to win back power.

Source: Xinhua