[BBC] – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has won a third consecutive term in office.With two-thirds of the votes counted, the left-wing leader had secured an irreversible lead with 72%, election officials said.

His closest rival, centre-right candidate Maximino Rodriguez, only had 14.2% of the vote. Mr Ortega had been widely expected to win both due to the popularity of his social programmes and because he faced no obvious political challenger.

A former left-wing rebel, Mr Ortega has led Nicaragua through a period of economic stability which has made him popular with Nicaragua’s business sector and foreign investors. Supporters of Mr Ortega took to the streets to celebrate his victory.

But even before the first results were announced, members of the opposition coalition Broad Front for Democracy (FAD) called the elections a “farce”. The FAD, which had urged voters to boycott the election, alleged that more than 70% had abstained from voting.

They were contradicted by the electoral authorities which put voter participation at 65.8%. International observers were not allowed to monitor the vote. Mr Ortega’s running mate was his wife, Rosario Murillo, who now looks set to become vice-president.

Analysts say that Ms Murillo already shares decision-making with Mr Ortega and could become president if her 70-year-old husband were to bow out. Nicaragua’s economy has grown at double the Latin American average, but the country still needs to attract more foreign investment.

A $50bn (£40bn) plan to build an interoceanic canal across Nicaragua with Chinese investment gained international attention, but there are serious doubts over whether it will ever be built. The country has been able to avoid the sky-high murder rates of some of its Central American neighbours but it also faces the ever pervasive threat of drug-trafficking.