Six Candidates Compete For The Nicaraguan Presidency On Sunday

On Nov., the Nicaraguan people will elect president, vice president, 90 lawmakers, and 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament.

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The parties competing for the presidency are the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), Nicaragua's Constitutional Liberal Party (PLC), Christian Road (CCN), Liberal Alliance Party (ALN), the Independent Liberal Party (PLI), and the Alliance for the Republic Party (APRE). Below are the profiles of the political trajectory of their candidates:

Daniel Ortega. Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega will seek re-election on Sunday, which seems highly probable according to the latest voting intention polls. The FSLN militant and former guerrilla fighter is committed to continuing the social and economic policies that the Sandinista Revolution has been deploying to improve the Nicaraguan population's access to education and health.

Among the reasons explaining these electoral preferences are Ortega's achievements related to massive housing construction programs for poor families, concessional loans for the start of small businesses, the development of an comprehensive school nutrition program, and the strengthening of the national primary healthcare system.

Walter Espinoza. This 41-year-old PLC militant was elected Managua councilor in 2012 and he has served as a lawmaker since 2016. Despite his solid political career, Espinoza does not enjoy much acceptance amongst voters since he ran for the upcoming elections at the last minute due to the resignation of candidate Milton Arcia.

Mauricio Orue. This 54-year-old theologian and psychologist runs as a PLI candidate. The electoral forecasts do not favor him much either due to the scandals in which he has been involved. In 2017, for example, the Nicaraguan Evangelical University initiated a legal process against him due to massive fraud related to tuition charges in a master's program he managed.

Marcelo Montiel. This public notary, who runs as an ALN militant, assured that he will work hard to fight the economic crisis prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic if he is elected.

Guillermo Osorno. Although this pastor did not get even 4 percent of the votes in the last election, he will try to get to the presidency again. His political campaign has been peppered with criticism as Osorno placed his son at the top of the list of candidates for congress. The pastor rejected the accusations of nepotism by alleging that his relative has enough merits to be a lawmaker. 

Gerson Gutierrez. This 29-year-old lawyer runs is the youngest presidential candidate. He studied Law at Martin Luther King Nicaraguan Evangelical University and has a master’s degree in criminal law. If elected, he promised to work to strengthen public institutions.