Daniel Ortega Wins in Nicaragua’s Seemingly Rigged Elections

Daniel Ortega was formally declared President of Nicaragua for his third consecutive term by electoral officials late on November 6 after an election process that an opposition coalition, Broad Front Democracy (FAD), called the “biggest farce” since the Sandinista leader came to power. Ortega, whose running mate was his wife, Rosario Murillo, received 72 percent of the vote with only one fifth of the ballots counted, election officials stated. His closest opponent, Maximino Rodríguez, only had 14.2 percent of the vote.

The FAD, who had urged voters to boycott the supposedly rigged election, claimed that more than 70 percent of the population did not cast a ballot in protest of Ortega’s unconstitutional and undemocratic behavior. This information was contradicted by the Electoral Board, which alleged a voter turnout of 65.8 percent. International observers were not allowed to monitor the electoral process.

Ortega, who has been an active member of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front since his teenage years, has enjoyed  Nicaragua’s strong economic growth in recent years and relatively low levels of crime in comparison to its northern neighbors, namely Honduras and El Salvador. The first lady’s policies have also been immensely popular, with poverty rates falling almost 13 percent, according to the World Bank.

However, opposition leaders have claimed that the election was completely rigged by Ortega and his allies, who have been ‘‘manipulating the political system to guarantee he stayed in power for a new five-year term by dominating all branches of government, allowing indefinite presidential reelection and delegitimizing the only opposition force... capable of challenging him,’’ as the Los Angeles Times reports. The FAD accuses Ortega of attempting to build a political dynasty alongside his wife.

The United States has weighed in on the alleged election fraud in Nicaragua, with the Department of State expressing deep concern for ‘‘the flawed presidential and legislative electoral process... which precluded the possibility of a free and fair election.’’