MANAGUA -- (AP) -- Former Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega renounced his congressional immunity on Wednesday, saying he wants to confront his stepdaughter's allegations that he repeatedly raped her.

 "I want to say that I am innocent, that I reject the charges,'' Ortega told Managua criminal court Judge Juana Mendez. He formally renounced protection from prosecution granted members of congress.

 However, it was not clear if the action would have any practical effect. Ortega's attorneys have argued that the statute of limitations on the accusations had expired.

 The congressional protection allowed Ortega to avoid charges for nearly four years over the allegations of Zoilamerica Narvaez, the daughter of his wife Rosario Murillo.

 Ortega led the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front government between 1979 and 1990, when he lost a re-election bid. He also lost presidential elections in 1996 and last month.

 In March 1998, Narvaez accused Ortega of raping her repeatedly over several years, beginning when she was 11 years old. That was about the time the Sandinistas took power in 1979. She is now 33.

 Ortega said the allegation "has been a political trial that was manipulated by the government.''

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