At Stake in this Election:        

• The Office of the President of the Republic of Nicaragua 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President Daniel ORTEGA (since 10 January 2007) 
• Head of Government: President Daniel ORTEGA (since 10 January 2007) 
• Assembly: Nicaragua possesses a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) consisting of 92 deputies. 

Electoral System: 

• The President of Nicaragua is elected for a five-year term* using a first-past-the-post system. [1] A plurality of candidates compete in a single round of voting, in which the highest grossing candidate must surpass 35 percent of the vote to win. [2]​

*The National Assembly ratified a constitutional amendment in 2014 eliminating presidential term limits. [3] 

Last Election: 

• The last presidential elections were held on 6 November 2016, which saw incumbent President Daniel ORTEGA win a third consecutive term after receiving 72.44 percent of the vote. [4] 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Candidate: Daniel ORTEGA**
  • Party: Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) / Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional  
• Candidate: Walter ESPINOZA
  • Party: Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) / Partido Liberal Constitucionalista 
• Candidate: Guillermo OSORNO
  • Party:Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path (CCN) / Partido Camino Cristiano Nicaragüense  
• Candidate: Gerson GUTIÉRREZ
  • Party:Alliance for the Republic (APRE) / Alianza por la República
• Candidate:Mauricio ORÚE
  • Party:Independent Liberal Party (PLI) / Partido Liberal Independiente  
• Candidate: Marcelo MONTIEL
  • Party: Nicaragua Liberal Alliance (ALN) / Alianza Liberal Nicaragüense  

**Ahead of the elections, incumbent President Daniel ORTEGA jailed seven other presidential candidates, while his Sandinista National Liberation Front pushed through a raft of legislation in the National Assembly criminalizing virtually all avenues of dissent. [5]

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 6,243,931 (July 2021 est.) [6]
• Registered Voters: 4,500,000 (2021 est.) [7]

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 3,165674 (2020 est.) [8]
• Is Nicaragua a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980) [9]
• Has Nicaragua ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 October 1981) [10] 
• Gender Quota: Political parties or coalitions of political parties which compete in National Assembly elections must construct electoral lists which alternate between sexes on a 50/50 percent basis. [11]  
• Female Candidates in this election: 0 
• Number of Female Legislators: 43 out of 92 seats[12]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 128 at 0.660 (2020) [13] 
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014) [14] 

Disability Data: 

• Is Nicaragua a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007) [15]
• Has Nicaragua ratified CRPD: Yes (7 December 2007) [16]
• Population with a disability: 886,182 (2021 est.) [17]

[1] http://legislacion.asamblea.gob.ni/normaweb.nsf/b92aaea87dac762406257265005d21f7/a0c959ffe15fdf4906257c7e0059f947?OpenDocument

[2] https://www.as-coa.org/articles/five-things-know-about-nicaraguas-2021-presidential-election

[3] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-25937292

[4] https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/2665/

[5] https://www.npr.org/2021/11/07/1053275827/nicaragua-may-be-holding-presidential-elections-but-it-is-edging-toward-dictator

[6] https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nicaragua/

[7] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/9/what-next-for-nicaragua-as-ortega-prepares-for-fourth-term

[8] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=NI

[9] https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

[10] https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en

[11] https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/country-view/232/35

[12] https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/country-view/232/35

[13] http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/NIC

[14] https://www.genderindex.org/country/nicaragua-2014-results/

[15] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en

[16] https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-15&chapter=4&clang=_en

[17] http://www.electionaccess.org/en/resources/countries/ni/all/