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Presidential election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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![]() Ortega 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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90 seats in the National Assembly 46 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
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General elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 2016 to elect the President, the National Assembly and members of the Central American Parliament. [1] Incumbent President Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was re-elected for a third consecutive term amid charges he and the FSLN used their control of state resources to bypass constitutional term limits and hamstring political rivals. The FSLN benefited from strong economic growth and relatively low levels of crime compared to neighbouring countries. [2]
According to the official results, Ortega was reelected with more than 70% of the votes. However, the election was questioned by the opposition due to the dismissal of sixteen opposition deputies months prior to the election and the complaints of both electoral fraud and voter intimidation. [2]
Four months before the elections, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court removed the disputed Independent Liberal Party (PLI) leader Eduardo Montealegre from office, decreeing that Pedro Reyes was the leader of the PLI. After 16 deputies from the PLI and its Sandinista Renovation Movement ally objected, the Supreme Electoral Council ordered them removed from the National Assembly and empowered Reyes to select their replacements. [3] [4] [5] [6]
The president was elected using first-past-the-post voting. [7]
The 90 elected members of the National Assembly were elected by two methods; 20 members were elected from a single nationwide constituency, whilst 70 members were elected from 17 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from 2 to 19 seats. Both types of election were carried out using closed list proportional representation with no electoral threshold. [8] A further two seats were reserved for the runner-up in the presidential election and the outgoing president (or their vice president). [9]
Lists of candidates to the National Assembly and to the Central American Parliament had to be composed of 50% male and 50% female candidates. [10]
In June 2016 Ortega announced international observers would not be allowed to oversee the elections. The Carter Center termed this "an attack on the international community... We...lament this decision to ignore a key portion of Nicaragua's own electoral law." [11] However, less than two weeks before the elections, the Organization of American States accepted an invitation to send a delegation "to meet with experts and state bodies involved in the electoral process" from 5–7 November. [12] [13]
According to the official results, Ortega was reelected with more than 70% of the votes. However, the election was questioned by the opposition due to the dismissal of the opposition deputies, the lack of international observers and the complaints of both electoral fraud and voter intimidation. [2]
Ortega was widely expected to win due to the popularity of his social programmes and because he faced no obvious political challenger. [14]
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
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Daniel Ortega | Sandinista National Liberation Front | 1,806,651 | 72.44 | |
Maximino Rodríguez | Constitutionalist Liberal Party | 374,898 | 15.03 | |
José Alvarado | Independent Liberal Party | 112,562 | 4.51 | |
Saturnino Cerrato | Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance | 107,392 | 4.31 | |
Erick Cabezas | Conservative Party | 57,437 | 2.30 | |
Carlos Canales | Alliance for the Republic | 35,002 | 1.40 | |
Total | 2,493,942 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 2,493,942 | 96.51 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 90,246 | 3.49 | ||
Total votes | 2,584,188 | 100.00 | ||
Source: CSE, IFES |
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Party | National | Constituency | Total seats | +/– | |||||
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
Sandinista National Liberation Front | 1,590,316 | 65.86 | 14 | 1,608,395 | 65.62 | 56 | 70 | +8 | |
Constitutionalist Liberal Party | 369,342 | 15.30 | 3 | 375,432 | 15.32 | 10 | 13 | +11 | |
Independent Liberal Party | 162,043 | 6.71 | 1 | 117,626 | 4.80 | 1 | 2 | –24 | |
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance | 137,541 | 5.70 | 1 | 137,078 | 5.59 | 1 | 2 | +2 | |
Conservative Party | 106,027 | 4.39 | 1 | 110,568 | 4.51 | 0 | 1 | +1 | |
Alliance for the Republic | 49,329 | 2.04 | 0 | 70,939 | 2.89 | 1 | 1 | +1 | |
YATAMA | 30,901 | 1.26 | 1 | 1 | +1 | ||||
Special members [lower-alpha 1] | 2 | – | |||||||
Total | 2,414,598 | 100.00 | 20 | 2,450,939 | 100.00 | 70 | 92 | 0 | |
Source: CSE, El 19 Digital |
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
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Sandinista National Liberation Front | 1,673,627 | 68.45 | 15 | +2 | |
Constitutionalist Liberal Party | 346,855 | 14.19 | 3 | +2 | |
Independent Liberal Party | 139,618 | 5.71 | 0 | –6 | |
Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance | 134,858 | 5.52 | 1 | +1 | |
Conservative Party | 106,350 | 4.35 | 0 | – | |
Alliance for the Republic | 43,905 | 1.80 | 1 | +1 | |
Total | 2,445,213 | 100.00 | 20 | 0 | |
Source: CSE, El 19 Digital |
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and the 58th president of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously, he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 1979 to 1985, and then as the 54th President from 1985 to 1990. During his first term, he implemented policies to achieve leftist reforms across Nicaragua. In later years, Ortega's left-wing radical politics cooled significantly, leading him to pursue pro-business policies and even rapprochement with the Catholic Church. However, in 2022, Ortega resumed repression of the Church, and has imprisoned prelate Rolando José Álvarez Lagos.
Nicaragua is a nation in Central America. It is located about midway between Mexico and Colombia, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. Nicaragua ranges from the Caribbean Sea on the nation's east coast, and the Pacific Ocean bordering the west. Nicaragua also possesses a series of islands and cays located in the Caribbean Sea.
Nicaragua is a presidential republic, in which the President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government, and there is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a Christian socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s.
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The National Assembly is the legislative branch of the government of Nicaragua founded in January 1985.
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In 1979, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ending the Somoza dynasty, and established a revolutionary government in Nicaragua. Following their seizure of power, the Sandinistas ruled the country first as part of a Junta of National Reconstruction. Following the resignation of centrist members from this Junta, the FSLN took exclusive power in March 1981.
General elections were held in Nicaragua on 6 November 2011. The incumbent president Daniel Ortega, won a third term in this election, with a landslide victory.
Edipcia Dubón is a Nicaraguan politician and human rights activist. From 2011 until her party's expulsion in 2016, she was a deputy to the National Assembly of Nicaragua, as a member of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS).
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