Election Anomalies

There has been some discussion of what the heck is going on with the rest of the counting process. The CSE processed 92% of the vote in 48 hours and now, after another 36+ hours have passed, nothing.

There is an article in today's La Prensa -- what got me was the "Lentitud" section showing what percentage of votes have been counted by department.

Really don't think the final count could possible change the presidential results but the make-up of the asemblea is certainly in question...

EDIT TO ADD: a related article about some alleged shenanigans in Diriamba!

Voted yesterday for my candidates of choice after standing 3 hours in line.

Later that day ended up chewing the fat with a good friend, an intellectual and an astute observer of the political winds of Nicaragua.

He mused that he was concerned what would happen with a Daniel Ortega victory. His concern wasn't what Daniel would or wouldn't do, but rather, he cited the history of the country in that the Liberal Right has never ACCEPTED a political defeat. Back after the electoral defeat of the Sandinistas in the late 80´s, a surprised and long-faced Ortega announced that his party accepted the results of the vote defeating the Sandinistas.

I reflect on his words as I watch this morning the PLC and ALN contesting the preliminary results with any reason they can conjur up, as well as prematurely declaring that the election will go to a second round.

Unfortunately, in real Democracies, one also has to learn to be a good loser.

No Sandinista . . . Ni Liberal . . . NICARAGÜENSE!

Sixty percent want someone other than Ortega, but the cast of thousands splitting the vote, plus the minority (35% to avoid runoff) BS cannot in any way be called majority rule, or the will of the people.

For information visit www.radiolaprimerisima.com, they seem to have un-biased info.

***** is in the back of a police truck on the way to jail for transporting a case of Toña from his home to the home of another gringo.

Sigh. Friggin' interference in the Nica elections...

All kinds of funny stuff going on last minute.

Some 60 year old in Esteli, got pissed when he tried to use his cell when he was about to deposit his vote. They went to take it away, and he got pissed and ripped up his vote.

In Chinandega they tried to close the polling booth at 6 sharp. "Supposedly" a few people showed up 5 minutes before the deadline to get into line. The polling booth shut the doors anyway. However after much bitching they seem to reopened the doors

I have been looking at the pre-election coverage in everywhere from the BBC to the Turkish Press. Almost every article talks about how Ortega is the left-wing candidate and that the conservatives are split between Montealegre and the PLC candidate. Most point out that the US disowned the PLC.

This makes it sound like there are three parties and while the conservatives are a majority, they are split. I have seen no reference to Jarquín, the split on the Sandinista side or what sort of percentages the "conservative vs. left" really represent.

FSLN and PLC officials campaigning or trying to influence voters right outside(and possibly inside) polling places:

CLICK

Exit polls will not be allowed so we won't have much actual news until Monday

from Prensa Latina: http://tinyurl.com/yesf9d

"There are 3.6 million people registered to elect the President and Vice-President, the 90 deputies to the National Assembly and the 20 representatives to Centro American Parliament. The CSE calculates of that total, 2.85 million will go actually to the polls.

Electors will have the possibility of voting in the 11,000,274 vote reception boards, which will be opened all over the country the day elections begin and observed by more than a thousand international experts and 16,000 locals."

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Why do they need more than 11 miillion places for 3 million people to vote?