Editor's Comment: This sweeping victory by the FSLN in the municipal elections in Nicaragua amounts to a resounding victory and another mandate for President Daniel Ortega. Democratic elections like this are what keeps Washington's dogs at bay, unable to engineer military and parliamentary coups like they have done in Chile, Panama and more recently in Honduras and Paraguay. There is no doubt that they will resort to their worn out tactics of claiming electoral fraud when the electoral system in their own country is in shambles and they've already lost all voter credibility with their own citizens regarding US presidential election tomorrow.  Before  this all important nationwide election in 153 Nicaraguan municipalities, tony solo, Founding Editor of Managua-based Tortilla con Sal was correct when he wrote:

"Overall, the FSLN has definitely made sweeping gains, taking control of municipalities in the Atlantic Coast and elsewhere that have always been controlled by one or other of opposition parties.

"Now, in the last couple of weeks prior to this year's municipal elections, even opinion poll companies regarded as tending to favour the Nicaraguan opposition put levels of support for right wing opposition political parties at around just 7% or 8%. Conversely, they register support for the Sandinista led political alliance at around 70%. It is no surprise that the FSLN has set itself the target of winning 130 of the country's 153 municipalities."

NICARAGUA : Definitive results from Nicaragua's Election Council

The definitive results from the Consejo Supremo Electoral in Nicaragua's municipal elections give the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional 134 of 153 municipalities, the Alianza Partdo Liberal Indepèndiente 13 municipalities, Yatama 3 municipalities, the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista 2 municipalities and the Alianza Liberal Nicaragüense 1 municipality. Nicarguans swept the floor, giving 88 percent of their municipalities to Daniel Ortega's FSLN political party.   

The FSLN won all the municipalities in Carazo, Leon, Chinandega, Masaya, Managua, Estelí, Granada, Madriz and Rio San Juan plus muncipalities in the rest of the country's 15 departments and two Autonomous Regions for its total of 134 municipalities.

The FSLN won the capital Managua with over 80% of the vote. Overall, national support for the FSLN was 75%.

The muncipalities won by the PLI:

• In Chontales, San Pedro de Lovago, Santo Domingo, Villa Sandino.
• In Boaco, San Jose de los Remates.
• In the Northern Atlantic Autonomous Region, Mulukuku, Waslala
• In the Southern Atlantic Autonomous Region, El Tortuguero, La Cruz de Rio Grande
• In Jinotega, San Jose de Bocay, Santa Maria de Pantasma
• In Matagalpa, Rio Blanco
• In Nueva Segovia,  Ciudad Antigua, Wiwili
• The indigenous peoples party Yatama won in the Northern Atlantic Autonomous region, Bilwi/Puerto Cabezas, Prinzapolka and Waspan.

The PLC won in the Southern Atlamtic Autonomous Region, Bocana de Paiwas and Muelle de los Bueyes

The ALN won San Francisco de Cuapa in Chontales.

The elections were accompanied by foreign monitoring teams from :

• Consejo de Expertos Electorales de Latinoamérica (CEELA) ,
• Organización de Estados Americanos (OEA),
• Asociación De Organismos Electorales De Centroamérica Y Del Caribe (Protocolo de Tikal),
• Asociación De Organismos Electorales De América Del Sur (Protocolo de Quito),
• Unión Interamericana de Organismos Electorales (UNIORE) y México.

National teams accompanying the electoral process took part from :

• Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (PPDH),
• Centro de Derechos Humanos,
• Ciudadanos y Autonómicos (CEDEHCA),
• Consejo Nacional de Universidades (CNU).

All these groups endorsed the municipal elections as being free, fair and well organized.

The Consejo Supremo Electoral estimated voter participation at 56%.

We have found that the most useful web site for the latest information on the municipal election results has been the web site of Nuevo Radio Ya -  (Spanish) - they have an excellent interactive section on the 2012 municipal elections about half way down on the right hand side of their page.

The Consejo Supremo Electoral web site seems to be slow updating its information, for example we found that the information for Rio San Juan and for the RAAN was not up to date.

Radio La Primerísima also has some good analyses.

Source: Tortilla Con Sal