NICARAGUA’S ruling left-wing party looks on course to win next year’s elections, according to the latest poll, which shows more than two-thirds of the electorate intending to vote for the Sandinista National Liberation Front.

A wide-ranging survey conducted by the M&R polling company two years after the last national elections reveals that 63.5 per cent of Nicaraguans would vote for President Daniel Ortega’s party.

The poll’s finding of huge support for the government comes as a major blow to Western powers, which have repeatedly claimed that Mr Ortega and the Sandinistas are unpopular and rule as a dictatorship.

Starting in April 2018, the government faced a Washington-backed armed coup attempt that created a reign of terror on the streets, targeting government supporters.

But the Sandinistas saw off the coup bid with the support of the Nicaraguan people and has since set in train a peace process to bring society back together.

Support for the opposition stands at less than 16 per cent, according to the poll, which had a 95 per cent accuracy rate.