On Sunday, November 6th, general elections will be held in Nicaragua for president and vice president, in addition to representatives for the National Assembly, departments and Central American Parliament. Nicaraguan citizens vote beginning at age 16.
Nicaragua’s parliament is unicameral and is elected through a list of proportional representation system. This means that each party or group presents a list of candidates for a multimember electoral district, electors vote for parties and the parties are given a proportional number of seats in accordance with the votes they received.
For the office of president, the candidate must either receive over 40% of the votes or obtain at least 35% with a 5% lead separating him or her from the closest contender. If neither of these conditions is met, a second round of elections is held.
Even though Nicaragua’s constitution prohibits re-election, current President Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) will participate in the November 2011 elections thanks to a decision made by the Supreme Court authorising him to do so.
