Sandinistas take control of all city halls in Nicaragua

The left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the party in power in Nicaragua for 16 years, took office on Tuesday (10th) of 100% of the city halls in the Central American country.

The mayors of Nicaragua’s 153 municipalities, elected in an alliance led by the FSLN in last November’s elections, were sworn in by the authorities of the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), which is also controlled by magistrates linked to the ruling party.

This is the first time since the 1980s, also under the mandate of former Sandinista guerrilla Daniel Ortega, that all municipalities in Nicaragua are governed by the FSLN, the party that controls all state powers, the Army and the National Police.

A total of 6,392 officials took office on January 10, including the 153 mayors, their deputy mayors and members of the municipal councils of Nicaragua’s 153 municipalities, according to official information.

Contrary to what the government of Nicaragua had announced, the dictator Daniel Ortega was not present at the inauguration ceremony, which was conducted by the holder of Electoral Power, Brenda Rocha.

The Sandinistas were proclaimed winners in the November 6 municipal elections, in a process that was characterized by the lack of competition for the ruling party in the 153 mayoralties in dispute and the fact that several opposition leaders were held in prison.

According to the Electoral Authority, the FSLN obtained 54.9% of the 2,028,035 valid votes, out of a total of 3,692,733 Nicaraguans eligible to vote, in a country of 6.6 million inhabitants, after having dismissed 785,601 voters without explaining the reasons.

With these results, the Sandinistas moved from control of 141 city halls to all 153 existing in Nicaragua, amid complaints from opponents about the apparent constitution of a “single party” by Ortega.

The Urnas Abiertas political incidence observatory, made up of a multidisciplinary team and volunteers, indicated that in these elections turnout was 17.33%, with an abstention rate of 82.67%, based on a study carried out in 366 centers of vote, out of 3,106 qualified, with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of 5%.

In turn, the Electoral Power set participation at 57.1% and abstention at 42.9%.

With information from EFE/Gazeta do Povo