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    January 26, 2012

Irregularities in Nicaragua Election Prompt US Aid Review

   VOA News
   Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega greets supporters at the
   swearing-in ceremony for his second term as president, with Venezuela's
   President Hugo Chavez (second right), at the Revolution Square in
   Managua, Nicaragua, January 10, 2012. Photo: Reuters
   Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega greets supporters at the
   swearing-in ceremony for his second term as president, with Venezuela's
   President Hugo Chavez (second right), at the Revolution Square in
   Managua, Nicaragua, January 10, 2012.

   The United States says Nicaragua's recent elections were "a setback to
   democracy" and warned it would now review aid to the country.
   In a statement Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the
   November 6 re-election of President Daniel Ortega was marred by
   significant irregularities.
   The statement said the process was not transparent or impartial, and
   undermined the ability of Nicaraguans to hold their government
   accountable.
   Clinton said the U.S. and other countries must therefore look for ways
   to hold Nicaragua accountable - such as applying "aggressive scrutiny"
   to project loans at the Inter-American Development Bank and World Bank.
   She said the U.S. will oppose any project that doesn't meet the "high
   standards" of the banks or provide adequate development impact.
   The comments follow the final report of the Organization of American
   States election observation mission.
   Ortega won more than 60 percent of the first-round vote in November,
   enough to avoid a runoff. A onetime Sandinista revolutionary, Ortega is
   the first Nicaraguan president to serve back-to-back terms since the
   end of the Somoza dictatorship in 1979.
   He first came to power in 1984 after earlier leading a movement to
   overthrow the country's dictator Anastasio Somoza. He lost his
   re-election bid in 1990, but regained power in 2006.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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