President Daniel Ortega will effectively run unopposed in his re-election bid for his ruling Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) in the 6 November general elections. Last month Eduardo Montealegre, the former leader of the Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI), the main party in the Coalición Nacional por la Democracia (CND) opposition coalition, announced that the CND would not be taking part in the vote. Montealegre’s announcement followed a ruling by the FSLN-controlled supreme justice court (CSJ) stripping him of PLI leadership and handing it to Pedro Reyes Vallejos, the leader of a rival PLI faction who Montealegre claims is an Ortega collaborator [RC-16-06]. With democracy concerns already rife following Ortega’s refusal to allow international observers to oversee the vote, the decision by the main opposition not to take part deals a further blow to the already questioned credibility of the electoral process.End of preview - This article contains approximately 1264 words.
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