CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR ELECTORAL REFORM,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAGUA 000554

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM NU
SUBJECT: CIVIL SOCIETY CALLS FOR ELECTORAL REFORM,
GOVERNMENT CONTINUES INTRANSIGENCE

REF: MANAGUA 203

Classified By: Ambassador Robert J. Callahan, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Nearly seven months after Nicaragua's
fraudulent municipal elections, civil society continues to
call on the Government of Nicaragua (GON) to address the
fraud and restore people's confidence in the country's
electoral system. On May 28, over 100 civil society
associations held a conference to publicly announce their
proposal for electoral reform as a "way out of the country's
political crisis." On June 1, the local NGO Movimiento por
Nicaragua (MpN) sponsored a forum to denounce the election
fraud and subsequent violence. These are but two of civil
society's latest efforts to pressure the government to
respond to the electoral fraud. Unfortunately, the Ortega
government holds tight to its intransigent position. End
Summary.

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Civil Society Proposes Electoral Reform
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2. (SBU) On May 28, the Group for the Promotion of Electoral
Reform (GPRE) held a conference to publicly roll-out and
invite other organizations to sign the proposal for electoral
reform. (The GPRE comprises 15 civil society groups and is
led by Nicaragua's two most prominent election observation
groups - IPADE and Etica y Transparencia, EyT. The group
receives assistance through USAID.) The proposal states that
the citizens "have lost confidence in the electoral
authorities and are being affected by the suspension of
foreign assistance" and that "six months have passed since
the elections and no national authority figure has begun a
dialogue with the citizenry to address the political crisis"
brought about by the electoral fraud. As a result, the
proposal calls for the resignation of all Supreme Electoral
Council magistrates and new magistrates to work toward
providing transparency and legitimacy to the November 2008
municipal elections. The proposal also calls for electoral
reform that provides more independence to the electoral
council, greater inclusion of political parties and citizens'
groups in the electoral process, and greater transparency in
the electoral results.


3. (SBU) At the conference members of the GPRE and other
civil society organizations publicly stated their support for
the proposal, called for government officials to address the
citizenry's concern, and publicly signed the document.
Groups signing the document included national-level NGOs, but
also NGOs working solely in certain departments or
municipalities. There were two representatives from
organizations from the departments of Leon and Chinandega,
who represented over 15 civil society groups. In their
public statements, these representatives stated that their
departments were being directly affected by the suspension of
the Millennium Challenge Account, but believed the Ortega
government was not interested in helping these people as it
was not resolving the problem in order to maintain the
assistance. Other organizations signing the proposal
included the Association of Nicaraguan Journalists, the
United Teachers Union, National Coordinator for Transport,
and the National Council of Evangelical Pastors.


4. (SBU) Realizing the fear by some in Nicaraguan society
that promoting electoral reform could lead to broader
constitutional reform that benefits the ruling Sandinista
National Liberation Front (FSLN) (reftel),Zuniga stated that
the proposal is aimed at addressing the fraud and restoring
people's confidence in the electoral system. The proposal,
he added, is not meant as a "stepping stone toward broader
constitutional reform."

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Civil Society Continues to Denounce Fraud
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5. (SBU) On June 1 civil society continued to publicly
denounce Nicaragua's fraudulent November 2008 municipal

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elections. Movimiento por Nicaragua (MpN) held a forum in
Managua, which gathered representatives of the media, NGOs
and electoral observers, and opposition mayoral candidates
believed to have won in their municipalities. The consensus
was clear across the board that a large number of municipal
elections were characterized by fraud. Specific examples of
the fraud included 38% of polling booths being closed early,
clear partisan actions in favor of the FSLN on the part of
the electoral police (images were displayed of some
brandishing nightsticks in an attempt to intimidate the
opposition),and an inconsistent voter registration process
that favored the governing FSLN.


6. (SBU) The opposition mayoral candidates that made
presentations at the forum represented the municipalities of
Leon, Masaya, Corinto, Juigalpa, and Managua. Each described
the particularities of the fraud in his municipality,
including some (like Corinto and Juigalpa) which the
electoral authorities initially had declared winners. Since
the elections, these candidates have formed an association
(the November 9 Group) and have continued to publicly
denounce the election fraud and promoted transparency in
local governments.


7. (SBU) The various groups at the MpN forum described how
the election fraud has negatively impacted the Nicaraguans'
faith in the democratic process, noting many citizens would
prefer to abstain in future elections. MpN representatives
noted this feeling of disenfranchisement among the citizens
is dangerous for Nicaragua's democracy, and as such MpN and
other NGOs remain committed to organizing the Nicaraguan
people to peacefully demonstrate their concern.

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Comment
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8. (C) As Nicaraguan civil society noted, nearly seven
months have passed since the fraudulent November 2008
municipal elections and the Ortega government has shown no
willingness to address the fraud nor the resulting "political
crisis." Rather, Ortega continues to defy national and
international calls to resolve the issue, and he claims that
Venezuelan assistance will fill the gap left by traditional
donors who pull their assistance as a result of the
elections. While civil society continues (and will continue)
to denounce the fraud and work to keep the citizens involved
in the democratic process, no one believes the Ortega
administration will be a partner in this endeavor.
CALLAHAN