Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega seeks a fourth consecutive term in elections against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail.
The opposition has called on Nicaraguans to stay home in protest of an electoral process that has been roundly criticized as not credible by foreign powers.
In June, police arrested seven potential presidential challengers on charges that essentially amount to treason. They remained in detention on election day. Some two dozen other opposition leaders were also swept up ahead of the elections.The other contenders on Sunday’s ballot are little known politicians from minor parties seen as friendly with Ortega’s Sandinista Front.
On Friday, a senior U.S. State Department official, who spoke with reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S. government was willing to consider additional targeted sanctions, but had tried to avoid measures that would more broadly impact the Nicaraguan people.