At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Nicaragua

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Jose Arnoldo ALEMAN LACAYO
• Head of Government: President Jose Arnoldo ALEMAN LACAYO
• Assembly: Nicaragua has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 92 seats.

* The president is both the chief of state and head of government. In order to avoid a run-off, a candidate must obtain 40 percent of the vote or 35 percent conditioned on the fact that s/he has at least a 5-point lead over the nearest rival.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
• In the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) 90 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

*** One seat is reserved for the previous president and one seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election. Currently, the Assembly has only 91 seats.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra
  • Party: Sandinista National Liberation Front / Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN)
• ​Enrique BOLANOS Geyer
  • Party: Constitutional Liberal Party / Partido Liberal Constitucionalista
• Alberto SABORIO 
  • Party: Conservative Party of Nicaragua / Partido Conservador de Nicaragua

Last Presidential election:

• The previous presidential election was held on 20 October 1996. In this election, Jose Arnoldo ALEMAN LACAYO won the presidency with 51.1% of the vote. 

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,100,750 (2001)
• Registered Voters: 2,832,928 (2001)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,578,040 (2001)

·         Is Nicaragua a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Nicaragua ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 October 1981)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 19 (following the 2001 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 125 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Nicaragua a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Nicaragua ratified CRPD: Yes (7 December 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 765,112 (est.)