On 10 January 1985, Daniel Ortega took office as the President of Nicaragua after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) won with 67 percent of the vote at the November 1984 general elections. In the early phases of the campaign, Ortega enjoyed many institutional advantages, and used the full power of the press, police, and the Supreme Electoral Council against the fractured opposition.
In the weeks before the November election, Ortega gave a United Nations speech denouncing talks held in Rio de Janeiro on electoral reform, but by 22 October, the Sandinistas signed an accord with opposition parties to reform electoral and campaign laws, making the process fairer and more transparent.
During the campaign, Ortega promoted the Sandinistas’ achievements, and at a rally said that “Democracy is literacy, democracy is land reform, democracy is education and public health”.
International observers judged the election to be the first free election held in the country in more than half a century and a report by an Irish government delegation stated that “The electoral process was carried out with total integrity. The seven parties participating in the elections represented a broad spectrum of political ideologies.” Moreover, the general counsel of New York’s Human Rights Commission also described the election as “free, fair and hotly contested”.
A study by the United States’ Latin American Studies Association (LASA) concluded that the FSLN (Sandin
