WITH more than one third of the votes counted following Nicaragua's presidential election on Sunday, the right wing lawyer, Mr Arnoldo Aleman, was well ahead of his Sandinista challenger, Mr Daniel Ortega.
The Supreme Electoral Council said Mr Aleman had 48.04 per cent against Mr Ortega's 39.35 per cent, with 35.7 per cent of the total votes counted.
If borne out by the full count, Mr Aleman's margin of victory will put him well over the 45 per cent needed to secure an outright victory and avoid a second round run off against Mr Ortega at the end of November or beginning of December.
Mr Aleman had already claimed victory but Mr Ortega disputed his claim, saying it was too early to say who might have won the election and claiming that a private Sandinista count of ballots put him slightly ahead.
The electoral council's results bulletin, issued at around 10:45 a.m. local time (5.45 pm Irish time), was its third since counting began late on Sunday night.
It was not immediately clear when the count would finish or when it might become possible to discern a definite winner.
Earlier yesterday Mr Ortega also said the Sandinistas had detected some anomalies in the election process but declined to elaborate.
After claiming victory Mr Aleman immediately called for reconciliation in this deeply divided nation.
"From today, I invite everyone from the other political parties - from the one in second place to the lowest placed - to unite forces. Nicaragua needs all of us to leave the past behind," he said.
Mr Aleman campaigned on a fiercely anti Sandinista ticket, playing on fears that they would return Nicaragua to its violent past.
Both sides have demonised each other during the campaign, the Sandinistas playing up Mr Aleman's links to hackers of the late ex dictator, Anastasio Somoza, and Mr Aleman smearing Mr Ortega as a closet Marxist thinly disguised as a social democrat.
Observers of the election from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the European Union said last night that the vote had been legitimate, despite some delays and administrative errors.