Daniel Ortega, candidate of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), made pro-business pledges on the final day of campaigning for Nicaragua's Nov. 5 presidential election.

Ortega on Wednesday signed an agreement in the Chamber of Commerce building, calling for respecting the private sector, supporting free trade and reducing bureaucracy

Latest opinion polls show that Ortega is well in the lead over his nearest rival Eduardo Montealegre, candidate of the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance-Conservative Party (ALN-PC) coalition, thanks to a split in the ruling Liberal Party.

Under electoral laws, a candidate must garner 35 percent of the votes, to win the presidency outright, 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.

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