1990 Nicaraguan general election

Background

Sandinistas had held power since the FSLN toppled the Somoza dictatorship in 1979. Daniel Ortega was elected President in 1984. Chamorro was the editor of the country's largest newspaper, La Prensa, which she took over after the assassination of her husband Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal in 1978. A vocal critic of the dictatorship, his murder galvanized support for the Sandinistas against the dictatorship. Following the revolution that overthrew Somoza, Violeta Chamorro initially supported the FSLN government, accepting an invitation to join the Junta of National Reconstruction. However she soon became disenchanted and resigned, returning to the newspaper and becoming a critic of the FSLN government. In 1989 the United States Congress approved $9 million for the promotion of democracy in Nicaragua, of which $2.5 million was set aside for the UNO, in addition to a $5 million grant for the opposition earlier that year. Beginning in early 1989 the government held a series of talks with the opposition about reforming electoral and media laws. In April 1989 the Electoral Law was reformed, giving the opposition a larger share of public campaign funds, increased access to state run media and permission to receive foreign financing.

Campaign

With a diverse coalition of 14 opposition groups, the UNO mainly campaigned on a promise to end the decades of civil war and instability that wracked the country.

While the FSLN was mainly under controversy for their campaign due to their use of violence.

Opinion polls

Opinion polls leading up to the elections divided along partisan lines, with 10 of 17 polls analyzed in a contemporary study predicting an UNO victory while 7 predicted the Sandinistas would retain power.

Results

The election was organized by Mariano Fiallos Oyanguren, a law professor and Sandinista who was appointed by the FSLN in 1984 to head the Supreme Electoral Council. He faced party pressure to throw the race, specifically to announce at 19:00 on election night that the results of the first four precincts were four victories for the FSLN. Instead he chose to read the real results, which split the precincts, with two going to the FSLN and two to the ONU, which went on to win the election. Chamorro was elected with just under 55% of the vote.

Antonio Lacayo, a Sandinista supporter who voted for Ortega but ultimately served as a central figure in the Violeta Chamorro administration, said later: "Without Mariano Fiallos [Oyanguren] there would have been no democratic transition in 1990."

President

National Assembly

By region

Analysis

Possible explanations for the ONU victory include that the Nicaraguan people were disenchanted with the Ortega government, specifically discontentment with the management of the economy and the hostile posture toward the United States, believing the ONU was more likely to bring peace. Additionally, in November 1989, the White House had met with Chamorro on the subject of peace and democracy in Nicaragua and announced that the economic embargo against Nicaragua would end if Chamorro won. There are also reports of intimidation from the side of the Contras, with a Canadian observer mission claiming that 42 people were killed by the Contras in "election violence" in October 1989.

References

References

1. [[Dieter Nohlen]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p. 489 {{ISBN. 978-0-19-928357-6
2. Uhlig, Mark A.. (27 February 1990). "Turnover in Nicaragua; Nicaraguan Opposition Routs Sandinistas: U.S. Pledges Aid, Tied to Orderly Turnover". The New York Times.
3. Uhlig, Mark A.. (1990-02-27). "Turnover in Nicaragua; Aristocratic Democrat; Violeta Barrios de Chamorro". The New York Times.
4. Williams, Philip J.. (1990). "Elections and Democratization in Nicaragua: The 1990 Elections in Perspective". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs.
5. (May 1992). "Pens and Polls in Nicaragua: An Analysis of the 1990 Pre-election Surveys". American Journal of Political Science.
6. (March 1990). "After the Poll Wars – Explaining the Upset". Envio.
7. Cid, Amalia del. [https://www.laprensa.com.ni/2020/08/16/suplemento/la-prensa-domingo/2709142-cinco-grandes-fraudes-electorales-en-la-historia-de-nicaragua "Cinco Grandes Fraudes Electorales En La Historia De Nicaragua."] {{Webarchive. link. (2020-12-16 ''La Prensa''. August 16, 2020. {{ProQuest).
8. López, Ismael. (June 29, 2014). "El impulsor de la transparencia electoral".
9. "Constituency-Level Elections Archive (CLEA)".
10. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/11/09/bush-vows-to-end-embargo-if-chamorro-wins/705463fe-b519-4cef-8e9e-95b2504081d6/ "Bush Vows to End Embargo if Chamorro Wins"], ''The Washington Post,'' 9 November 1989
11. "The policy of keeping the contras alive ... also has placed in jeopardy the holding of elections by encouraging contra attacks on the electoral process. Thus, while the Bush administration proclaims its support for human rights and free and fair elections in Nicaragua, it persists in sabotaging both." As seen at: [https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1989/WR89/Nicaragu.htm "Nicaragua"] Human Rights Watch, 1990
12. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120724111823/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/471113751.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+27%2C+1989&author=%28CP%29&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=U.S.+trying+to+disrupt+election+in+Nicaragua%2C+Canadians+report&pqatl=google "U.S. trying to disrupt election in Nicaragua, Canadians report"] The Toronto Star, 27 October 1989