Ortega Expected to Win Re-Election as Nicaragua Veers Into Dictatorship

Nicaraguans cast ballots Sunday in an election whose result the opposition says is preordained: President Daniel Ortega is expected to win an overwhelming majority, completing his transformation into a 21st century version of the dynastic dictator he helped overthrow as a guerrilla revolutionary more than 40 years ago.

Mr. Ortega, 75, who is running with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, is expected to win a fourth consecutive term after he imprisoned seven would-be presidential candidates and 32 other leading businessmen, journalists, political foes, student and peasant leaders. The U.S. and European Union have described the elections as a sham.