Even before the polls open, the winner is already known: why Daniel Ortega remains president of Nicaragua

There is no detail, because the feud between Ortega and Chamorro dates back to the 1980s. Violetta Chamorro participated in the Sandinista revolution at the end of the 1970s (see below) and then joined the Ortega Sandinista party. But she quickly closed the door behind her, unsatisfied with the Sandinistas’ thirst for power. In 1990, she defeated Ortega in the presidential election to become the first non-Sandinista president after the revolution.

Her daughter Christiana was considered Ortega’s main rival a few months ago, but she is still in prison along with 6 other potential opponents.

The result of this “hunt” of the opposition is that today’s poll shows five hardly known opponents from small parties who support Ortega’s party in one way or another. So Ortega should not expect much opposition. Therefore, the opposition called on the population to stay in their homes and boycott the elections.

However, it is certainly not the case that everyone in Nicaragua wants to leave Ortega. Despite criticism from the opposition and part of the international community about the ever-increasing characteristics of dictatorship, he remains popular with part of the population due to the social policies of his government. Many social government projects have had or have had a positive impact on the lives of the poorest residents.

In addition to the presidential elections, there are also parliamentary elections today, in which most of the seats are up for election. Ortega’s party also controlled Parliament for some time.