Just two days before the municipal votes this November 6, the Sandinista Front keeps its militancy in the streets, verifying the population from house to house, “inviting” them to participate in an electoral process without political guarantees. At the same time, it demands that State workers guarantee their early vote this Sunday and that they send a ‘selfie’ of your finger splattered with indelible ink to your WhatsApp groups.
Some 3.7 million Nicaraguans are called to these votesin which only the Sandinista Front and five other political groups considered collaborators of the Ortega dictatorship participate.
“(Voting) is fully required. It is a requirement and they will be calling us”, confirms “Carla”, a state worker who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
There is a lot of fear in your work environment. Workers suspect that their conversations may be intercepted, which is why there is a general opinion not to say anything. “(There is) a panic that they will suddenly take your phone away and search it,” he confessed.
Regarding the votes, he only knows that they will be monitored through WhatsApp groups. They will consult them if they voted and will corroborate the data of their residence, the Voting Center and the Vote Receiving Board (JRV).
“Carmen”, an official of the Judiciary, assures that the control is stricter for the collaborators who will be in the Vote Receiving Boards. The orientation is that they show up at 6:00 AM to vote and send the photo of their stained finger together with the data of the JRV in which they cast their vote.
Judges in charge of political training
Since the “electoral farce” of 2021, several State workers were forced to participate in the electoral lines by order of the political leaders of each institution, comments “Carmen”. That did not change in 2022 and this year they attended two trainings; one political and one institutional, by the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE).
However, both workshops, in the case of “Carmen”, were directed by judges and not by CSE officials. The political message of the officials was clear: “the elections had to be won” and they expected the State workers to comply with each walk, caravan, closing of the campaign and verification in the neighborhoods.
“Carmen” feels that she is “ridiculous” because she recognizes that a true electoral process implies a contest between parties and must be transparent, but “here there is none of that”.
“Since the presidential elections, the feeling is the same: that they have already been won by the FSLN,” adds the official.
“Carlos”, a public employee in the health sector, indicates that the order for those who are on duty on November 6 is that they travel to their respective cities of origin to vote and return to their workday.
At the secondary school where the teacher “Lucía” works, they are waiting for the guidelines on voting. However, she points out that for weeks they have been asked for their ID numbers. “The goal is likely to be to track us down at the receiving boards.”
“This is a form of pressure for those who do not vote, it is verified that they did not attend their meeting, a strategy to force them to vote for fear of losing their job,” says the teacher.
