LatinNews Daily Report - 05 November 2012

POLITICS | FSLN sweeps Nicaragua’s municipal elections The ruling Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) romped home in the 4 November municipal elections, in which some 3.7m Nicaraguans were eligible to vote, according to preliminary results from the national electoral council (CSE).  With 56.22% of the count in, the FSLN obtained 824,275 votes, or 75.69% of the total, winning an estimated 127 of the 153 town halls up for grabs. The incumbent FSLN mayor of the capital Managua, Daysi Torres, was re-elected with just over 83% of the vote. The two main opposition parties trailed in a far distant second and third place, with the Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI) winning 175,356 votes, or 16.1% of the total, and the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) taking 69,213 votes, of 6.35% of the total.  The results look like a repeat of the last (2008) municipals, when the FSLN won in 109 of the 153 municipalities. Those polls were plagued by fraud allegations. The Organization of American States (OAS), which accompanied yesterday’s vote, has yet to comment on the process. No local monitors received official accreditation by the CSE, whose president, Roberto Rivas, is closely allied with President Daniel Ortega. National and international observers like the European Union are critical of the CSE.

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