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 per cent. Election officials said his closest rival, centre-right candidate Maximino Rodriguez, only had 14.2 per cent of the vote. <br/><br/>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.