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Between divergent statements about the influx to the polls, complaints of repression and alerts of possible fraud, Nicaragua held its municipal elections this Sunday. The forces related to President Daniel Ortega were grouped in an alliance made up of eight parties, as well as indigenous and religious movements called “Nicaragua Unida Triunfa”. It is expected that the ruling party will be the winner in most of the municipalities.
More than 3.7 million Nicaraguans over the age of 16 had an appointment with the polls this Sunday in the country’s municipal elections. Some elections in which mayors, deputy mayors and councilors of the 153 municipalities of the country were elected.
The day was marked by the denunciation of opponents and international organizations about the few electoral guarantees and the prior repression of dissident candidates for the ruling party.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega spoke after casting his vote.
“This vote is a vote for peace, beyond the party to which the vote is cast, they are voting for Nicaragua, and by voting for Nicaragua they are voting for peace,” the president said.
For many the results of the elections will not be a surprise. It is expected that the alliance “Nicaragua Unida Triunfa”, related to Ortega, will control all or almost all the territories of the country. Currently, the ruling group already leads 141 of the 153 municipalities of Nicaragua.
Thus, for groups such as “Open Ballot Boxes”, a political advocacy observatory, “these elections are part of a consolidation of Daniel Ortega’s totalitarian regime”.
According to Ligia Gómez, one of its members, more than 700 cases of political violence, including targeted harassment and threats against candidates or known opposition figures, had been documented this year.
Controversies over the influx to the polls
The versions about the influx to the polls are contrasting.
According to opposition organizations such as Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco, election day was marked by the low presence of citizens at the polling stations. The collective even showed photos on their social networks in which few people were seen with legends that marked: “Empty centers”.
The version of the Government is another. The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), controlled by government forces, assured that the elections were held with affluence, calm, and without incident.
“We have seen the influx in all the voting centers and we hope that this will continue in this civic day, in these municipal sovereign elections”, sentenced the president of the CSE, Brenda Rocha.
Allegations of fraudulent elections
The word “fraud” also gained prominence this Sunday. Both locally and internationally, complaints were made about arrests, irregularities and repression before and during election day.
The UN human rights office expressed concern about “arbitrary arrests” that occur in the country. “We call on the government to guarantee the political and civic rights of the Nicaraguan people and to end the repression,” he added.
For its part, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) warned on Friday that there were no conditions to hold “free and fair” elections.
The statement added that the elections are taking place “in a context of repression against the political opposition, with measures aimed at preventing their participation and the absence of reforms for the restructuring of the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and the Electoral Law.”
In parallel, opposition groups had denounced that more than 755,000 names had disappeared from the electoral rolls. And from exile, 13 organizations had signed a statement in which they claimed that the elections would be a “farce” that they intended to install “an absolute dictatorial regime and a single party.”
Shortly before the elections, the National Assembly, also controlled by government forces, approved a law so that Nicaraguans can vote even with expired identity cards.
A repression that continues
The repression of opponents in Nicaragua is not new. More than 200 people have been imprisoned since the 2018 demonstrations against the government. At that time, Ortega affirmed that it was a supposed coup d’état promoted by the United States.
In 2021 the president was re-elected for his fourth consecutive term. Elections that were marked by reprisals against politicians and activists opposed to the Government.
Last year, according to Open Polls, abstention reached more than 81%. Some figures radically different from those of the Supreme Electoral Council assured that it had been only 34.74%.
A panorama that seems not to have changed. According to the OEA, in recent weeks there has been a “recruitment of repression and persecution.”
With AP, EFE and AFP
