Nicaragua's long-term leader Daniel Ortega, under fire SLOTXO internationally over the detention of opposition figures ahead of November elections, will seek a fourth consecutive presidential term, a senior ally said Monday (Jul 19).

Ortega, 75, will be the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front's candidate for the November 7 presidential vote, Gustavo Porras, the speaker of Nicaragua's parliament, told public television.

He predicted victory was "indisputable."

Six opposition presidential hopefuls among 26 people detained by Ortega's government since last month, will not be allowed to run in the election.

In a clampdown that began on Jun 2, Ortega's government has rounded up political rivals in a series of house raids and nighttime arrests on charges of threatening Nicaragua's "sovereignty."

The charges are rooted in a law initiated by Ortega and approved by parliament in December, widely criticized as a means of freezing out challengers and silencing opponents ahead of the election.

The law bars "those who ask for, celebrate and applaud the imposition of sanctions against the Nicaraguan state" from seeking public office.

The first person to be detained was Cristiana Chamorro, widely seen as the favorite to beat Ortega but now under house arrest on government claims of money laundering.