Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is heading for a third consecutive term in office after securing more than 70% of the vote in partial results for Sunday's election, officials say.
A former left-wing rebel, Mr Ortega is popular in the country thanks to social programmes and economic stability.
He was widely expected to win as he faced no obvious challenger.
Mr Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, was also standing for vice president.
"There has been an excellent turnout," said Telemaco Talavera, an official accredited to monitor the vote.
With ballots from 21.3% of polling stations counted, Mr Ortega had 71.3% of the votes.
Critics accused Mr Ortega of manipulating the political system to stay in power and of smothering the opposition.
Ortega's victory was no surprise - Katy Watson, BBC News, Central America
The vote was seen as the most one-sided election in Nicaragua since the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 - a process that Mr Ortega himself was involved in.
But Nicaragua is sharply divided over the 70-year-old former guerrilla.
Many feel that the elections were a farce, that with this, his third consecutive term, there is growing autocracy in the country and the role of his wife as running-mate is too much of a family affair.
The fact remains, though, that he was the most popular candidate by far.
Overseeing Nicaragua's stable economic growth and the lack of violence compared to the problems of its neighbours El Salvador and Honduras in recent years have cemented him as the best option for many Nicaraguans.
Mr Ortega arrived at the voting station in the capital, Managua, with Ms Murillo just before the polls closed on Sunday at 18:00 local time (00:00 GMT).
"This is a vote for peace, for stability, for the security of Nicaraguan families," said Mr Ortega.
"Some say that we don't have proper elections here, because we're not insulting each other, throwing messages of hate, banging the drums of death," he added.
One-horse race for Daniel Ortega?
The five other candidates were all minor figures and were unable to present a challenge to the president. Part of the opposition urged a boycott, calling the vote a "farce".
International observers were not allowed to monitor the vote.
Analysts said that Mr Ortega's wife already shares decision-making with him and could become president herself if he bows out - there are rumours about the state of his health - or in the next election.
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.
