Presidential election in Nicaragua 2011

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The 2011 presidential election in Nicaragua took place on November 6, 2011. The choice was marked by extensive irregularities. President Daniel Ortega was re-elected to a third term with 63 percent of the vote, even though the country's constitution does not allow direct re-election. The entrepreneur and consensus candidate Fabio Gadea from the PLI received just under 31 percent, and ex-President Arnoldo Alemán, who is not allowed to leave the country because of suspected corruption, got 6 percent.

Contrary to earlier announcements by Daniel Ortega , international election observers a. a. approved by the Organization of American States . They reported irregularities and massive disabilities of their employees. In many cases, the election observers were refused entry to the voting booths. Opposition representatives were not admitted to all polling stations. In some parts of the country polling stations were set on fire by opposition supporters.

Candidates

Candidates were the head of the Sandinistas , Daniel Ortega, as well as ex-president Arnoldo Alemán (for the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista ) and the entrepreneur Fabio Gadea for the right-wing parties .

Survey

According to an opinion poll by the Nicaraguan company M&R Consultores , a vote of 56.5 percent was forecast for the incumbent head of state Daniel Ortega. The candidate Fabio Gadea from the opposition alliance Unidad Nicaraguense de Esperanza (Nicaraguan Unity of Hope) could count on only 14.1 percent of the vote, the former President Arnaldo Alemán with 5.8 percent.

Results and reactions

According to preliminary results, the FSLN received 60.8 percent of the vote in the parliamentary elections and was able to win 60 of the 92 seats. The Partido Liberal Independiente got 26, while the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista won 6 seats. In the presidential elections, according to the official final result, Ortega was confirmed in office with 62.7 percent of the vote. His challenger Gadea came in at 31.1 percent. On November 8th, violent clashes broke out between supporters of the FSLN and the PLI in the communities of Siuna and El Carrizo . At least four people died and more than a hundred, including around 50 police officers, were injured.

On November 17th, European Union observers described the election as a “ serious step backwards ” for democracy in the country. Among other things, they criticized the premature announcement of the results by the electoral authority. The Bishops' Conference also criticized the authority's lack of transparency and honesty.

Ortega was sworn in as President on January 10, 2012. In addition to around 8,000 guests, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad also took part in the celebration on Revolution Square in Managua .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Toni Keppeler: Ex-guerillero sticks to power. In: the daily newspaper . March 4, 2011, accessed March 4, 2011 .
  2. ^ "Ortega celebrates controversial election victory"; in Spiegel online from November 7, 2011
  3. ^ Nicaragua to announce regulations for election observers. June 24, 2011, accessed August 18, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Kerstin Sack, Harald Neuber: Nicaragua: Ortega leads, Naumann rushes. In: amerika21.de , July 27, 2011.
  5. ^ Ary Pantoja: Los futuros diputados a la Asamblea Nacional. In: ElNuevoDiario.com.ni , November 8, 2011 (Spanish).
  6. ↑ a b Toni Keppeler: Dead in protest against “fraud”. In: the daily newspaper. November 10, 2011, accessed November 10, 2011 .
  7. ^ Criticism of elections in Nicaragua. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . November 18, 2011, accessed November 18, 2011 .
  8. ↑ Ortega takes over the presidency after a controversial election. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . January 11, 2012, accessed January 11, 2012 .