Waging Peace:  Nicaragua
 
Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter

A five-person delegation of members and advisers to the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter visited Nicaragua during the presidential and legislative elections on Nov. 6, 2011. The delegation sought to understand the perspectives of various social and political actors, including those contending for elected positions, about the electoral process and postelectoral scenarios for Nicaragua.  The delegation did not serve as election observers nor seek credentials under Nicaragua's Election Accompaniment Regulation to access voting sites and therefore did not evaluate the voting process itself.

The group released a statement about the elections on Nov. 9, 2011, acknowledging the strong electoral support given to President Ortega but expressing concern of the reports of significant deficiencies in the electoral process and the implications for democratic governance. Read the November 2011 Elections in Nicaragua Study Mission Report (PDF) (En Español).

The Carter Center also visited Nicaragua in 2005, when Nicaraguans were divided over a controversial constitutional reform, which was passed by the legislature but rejected by the president. Accompanied by the former foreign minister of Argentina, Dante Caputo, and the former minister for human rights in Mexico, Mariclaire Acosta, Carter Center staff experts on Nicaragua visited the capital to assess the crisis and encourage dialogue. These members of the Friends of the Inter-American Democratic Charter reported their findings to the Organization of American States, encouraging that body to assist Nicaragua in overcoming its tense divide, and an OAS mission was undertaken.