The evangelical pastor Rudy Palacios was not aware that he had been registered as a candidate for councilor in the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance Party, one of the political organizations accused of being false opponents of the government of President Daniel Ortega and that will participate in the municipal elections on March 6. november.
A call from a friend informing him that he appeared on a provisional list of candidates which was released on September 13 by the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) He was “surprised” since, in his opinion, he had no interest in participating in the elections that will be held in Nicaragua in the coming weeks, since he considers that “there are no conditions to do something good.”
“I found out last night, I was surprised and I would like to clarify this situation for the population. I did not give authorization for my name to appear there, “Palacios told the digital media Current Nicaragua.
The municipal elections that will be held on November 6 are intended to elect the positions of the local authorities of the 153 municipalities of Nicaragua, and according to opponents consulted by the voice of americaThey are not only an opportunity to maintain Ortega’s absolute control at the national level, but also to consolidate it.
The authorities are distributed in mayors, vice-mayors, municipal councilors, owners and substitutes, according to the Supreme Electoral Council.
In the 2017 elections, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which is the official party in Nicaragua controlled by Ortega, was awarded 135 mayorships, out of 153, while the rest were distributed among the remaining parties.
Mayors are a replica of “national corruption”
But this electoral process lacks legitimacy, like the 2021 presidential elections in which Ortega was re-elected after imprisoning all the candidates, analysts say.
According to Pedro Fonseca, a Nicaraguan expert on electoral issues, this process will seek for Ortega to maintain his key files or “corruption networks” through the mayor’s offices.
“The Sandinista Front, historically, has operated thanks to corruption networks and there are people who are part of and are key players in the Sandinista Front’s corruption networks, and in one way or another there is a transactional relationship between the mayors, the mayors , the families that govern the municipalities”, says Fonseca to the VOA.
The expert indicates that there are entire families that govern in the localities, that administer the resources of municipalities “in a win-win relationship with the presidential family and with the leaders of the Sandinista Front, since they are precisely in charge of fully controlling the administration. public and the resources of the entire republic.
“In the end, basically, these people have perpetuated themselves in the mayor’s offices in the same way that Ortega has perpetuated himself in the presidency.”
According to the weekly Confidencial, Ortega will repeat as candidates for the municipal elections 101 mayors who are currently in office, including three mayors sanctioned by the United States, while at least five more political parties, branded as “false opponents” will participate in the election. process: the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, the Yatama Regional Indigenous Party, the Alliance for the Republic, APRE, and the Independent Liberal Party, PLI.
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