Nicaragua's Fraudulent Election Portends Trouble

On Sunday Nicaragua's voters went to the polls in an electoral event fraught with controversy. The candidacy of President Ortega was itself illegal; the Nicaraguan constitution prohibits re-election.
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On Sunday, Nicaragua's 3.4 million voters went to the polls to choose their president and their 92 Congressional representatives. Vying for the highest office in the land were five candidates, the most important of these being the sitting President Daniel Ortega, former Sandinista revolutionary-turned-elected-president; and Fabio Gadea, the 79-year-old radio celebrity turned candidate of the United Opposition.

This most recent electoral event was fraught with controversy. First and foremost, the candidacy of President Ortega was itself illegal; the Nicaraguan constitution prohibits presidential re-election. President Ortega out-maneuvered the constitution by obtaining a ruling by the pro-Sandinista Supreme Court stating that the constitution violated Ortega's human rights.

Election Day was also polemic. Luis Yanez, the head of the European Union's electoral observation mission declared, "I don't understand why there are so many obstacles, so much opacity and so many tricks in a process that should be clean and transparent." For his part Dante Caputo, head of the Organization of American States' (OAS) observer mission stated concern that 10 of the OAS teams around the country were not allowed to enter the voting booth. Caputo stated, "We faced a series of difficulties...We were blocked from being where we were supposed to be. This kind of situation has not happened before. It is worrisome." The two largest domestic election organizations, Hagamos Democracia and Etica y Transparencia went further. In their first press release following the election, Etica y Transparencia (who was not granted observer accreditation by the Ortega government) stated, "We estimate that the electoral process does not meet with the required minimum universal guarantees for an election." Hagamos Democracia, who did not apply for accreditation, reported that four people suffered gunshot wounds and 20 were arrested in the north of the country. Opposition candidate Fabio Gadea stated, "We cannot accept these results, since they represent not the will of the Nicaraguan people but of the Supreme Electoral Council."

The Nicaraguan government has responded to allegations of violence through army Chief General Julio Cesar Avilas who called reports of violence "isolated incidents," and saying the polls were "the calmest elections" in the country's recent history. With approximately 85% of the votes scrutinized, President Ortega is headed for an almost 40-point blowout. On Tuesday, multiple reports of violence were reported by Ortega sympathizers celebrating and opposition supporters protesting.

The real question in the aftermath of the vote is, "Why would Ortega allow Election Day to be less than free and fair?" Thanks to the incredible economic support of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez through Nicaragua's membership in the Chavez-sponsored Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA), President Ortega has received approximately $500 million a year in off-budget assistance to a private company he controls called ALBANISA. This has allowed Ortega to spend hundreds of millions on social projects -- which in turn led to his increased popularity. Polls in the run-up to the election showed Ortega with an easy win.

The first answer to this question seems to be that, while President Ortega remains popular, that popularity does not extend to those around him. Yet, he needs to obtain a super-majority in the National Assembly if he is to carry out the radical "21st Century Socialism" reforms being encouraged by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Ergo, vote rigging was required to assure total control of the Nicaraguan government.

The second reason is that President Ortega is not a Democrat. While working within the rules of the modern world -- he does not believe in these rules. This was clearly outlined in a document filtered by the Sandinista party outlining the activities necessary to consolidate the "Second Sandinista Revolution."

None of this is good news for the Nicaraguan people, or the United States. Already, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is touting Ortega's victory as the "consolidation of the ALBA." The ALBA is a vitriolic anti-American organization which makes common cause with Muammar Gaddafi and Mahmud Ahmadinejad and encourages the setup of "popular and protagonist democracy;" another term for mob rule.

President Ortega's next term appears to be guaranteed; and the United States will have to work with the Nicaraguan leader. Nevertheless, the United States could point out that voting does not equal democracy; and use this as an opportunity to challenge Ortega at the Organization of American States for violating the Inter-American Democratic Charter. This document, signed by all of the 34 then-democracies in the hemisphere on September 11, 2001 commits the nations to abide by the rules of representative democracy, rule of law and constitutional government. This President Ortega has clearly not done.

Constitutional, representative democracy is a fragile flower; easily trampled by personal ambition. The concerns of the lovers of freedom are with the people of Nicaragua as they enter this new, darker time.

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