Via the AP: Ortega seen winning Nicaragua election

The vote sampling, known as a quick count, had a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points. Ortega’s four opponents asked the group to carry out the count because they were concerned that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal was controlled by the Sandinistas.

Officially, with 40 percent of all polling stations counted, Ortega had 40 percent of the vote compared to 33 percent for Montealegre. Electoral officials have been slow to announce results, and it was not clear when final count would be available.

Three other rivals were well behind: Sandinista dissident Edmundo Jarquin, ruling-party candidate Jose Rizo and former Contra rebel Eden Pastora.

To win outright and avoid a runoff, Ortega needs just 35 percent of the vote and a 5-point advantage over his closest opponent.