No reports of Sandinistas targeting members or perceived members of the Partido Conservador between 1997 and 2002 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following information may be of interest.

Sources report that the governing Liberal Constitutionalist Party (Partido Liberal Constitucionalista, PLC) and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) made a series of deals in 2000 to share power in various government institutions (Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002; IPS 6 Nov. 2000), including the judiciary, "all the way up to the Supreme Court - the CSE [Supreme Electoral Council] and the comptroller-general's office" (ibid.). Country Reports 2001 stated that the PLC agreed to give the FSLN more power "in exchange for the avoidance of the use of violent protests to achieve political ends" and that "FSLN leaders largely refrained from using or threatening the use of violence during the year" (4 Mar. 2002).

Amnesty International reported that this alliance was viewed "by sectors of civil society as a threat to the democratic process and to basic human and civil rights," further stating that, as a result of electoral reforms introduced through this alliance, "[d]uring municipal elections in November [2000], a significant number of parties were left out of the contest and candidates were prevented from running for office" (2001). In the November 2000 municipal elections, the Conservative Party's (Partido Conservador, PC) national president, Pedro Solorzano, was prevented from registering as a candidate for the municipality of Managua (IPS 6 Nov. 2000; CENIDH 2001a). Solorzano stated that President Aleman and Daniel Ortega, Secretary General of the FSLN, intended to "exclude the Conservative Party from the electoral game and that they are attempting in a way that avoids reaction from the international community ... to exclude [him] personally" (La Prensa 8 July 2000). According to a bulletin of the Fundación Popol of Nicaragua, the exclusion of Solorzano came a few days after his party refused to form an alliance with the PLC for the upcoming elections and was to be interpreted as a "reprisal" (represalia) on the part of Aleman (14 Jan. 2001). US government officials had reportedly been pressuring the PLC and the PC to unite to avoid "dividing the anti-FSLN vote" in the November 2001 elections (Weekly News Update 17 June 2001).

In June 2001, the Supreme Electoral Council (Consejo Supremo Electoral, CSE) refused to register Jose Antonio Alvarado as the vice-presidential candidate of the Conservative Party (CENIDH 2001b; LAWR 19 June 2001; EFE 9 June 2001). The three Sandinista magistrates sitting on the CSE reportedly boycotted the vote on this matter (ibid.; LAWR 19 June 2001), stating that their "Liberal counterparts have engineered a bar on [the candidacy] of Jose Antonio Alvarado, who defected the Liberal party to be nominated by the PC" (ibid.). According to the EFE, the Sandinistas were supportive of the PC's candidate for vice-president (9 June 2001).

After the presidential elections of November 2001, the CSE cancelled the legal status of the PC (La Prensa 23 Jan. 2002; La Prensa de Honduras 22 Nov. 2001), because it did not obtain the minimum percentage of votes established by the law (ibid.). The PC initiated a recourse of amparo to contest the constitutionality of the CSE's decision as well as criminal proceedings against the CSE's secretary, Roberto Evertz, for document falsification (La Prensa 23 Jan. 2002; El Nuevo Diario 22 Jan. 2002). According to the PC, the signatures of the three Sandinista magistrates were falsified on the official notice (ibid.; La Prensa 23 Jan. 2002). The Sandinista members of the CSE publicly asserted that they did not sign the resolution (ibid.; El Nuevo Diario 22 Jan. 2002), even though the FSLN had originally requested that the CSE revoke the legal status of the PC (La Prensa de Honduras 22 Nov. 2001). However, in February 2002, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court declared inadmissible the recourse of the PC (El Nuevo Diario 28 Feb. 2002). The Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights (Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humans, CENIDH) stated that in light of the CSE's resolution, the future of the Conservative Party remains uncertain (2001a).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International. 2001. Amnesty International Report 2001. "Nicaragua." http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2001.nsf/webamrcountries/NICARAGUA?OpenDocument [Accessed 15 July 2002]

Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH). 2001a. Informe 2001. "Derecho a eligir y a ser elegido." http://www.ibw.com.ni/~cenidh/informs/informe2001/derechoaelegir.htm [Accessed 15 July 2002]

_____. 2001b. Informe 2001. "Contexto nacional." http://www.ibw.com.ni/~cenidh/informs/informe2001/contextonacional.htm [Accessed 15 July 2002]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. "Nicaragua." United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/wha/8315.htm [Accessed 15 July 2002]

EFE News Service [Madrid]. 9 June 2001. Filadelfo Martinez. "Nicaragua-Elections (Scheduled): Political Interests Affecting Road to Nicaraguan Elections." (NEXIS)

Fundación Popol, Nicaragua. 14 January 2001. Carlos J. García Castillo. "Pacto PLC-FSLN Vigente." http://spie.pangea.org/cint/bolenica/2001/140101.htm [Accessed 15 July 2002]

Inter Press Service (IPS). 6 November 2000. Maricel Sequeira. "Politics-Nicaragua: Sandinistas Triumph in Local Elections." (NEXIS)

Latin American Weekly Report (LAWR) [London]. 19 June 2001. "Ortega Wants 'Transition' Body to Halt Crisis; Government Says FSLN is to Blame for Situation." (NEXIS)

El Nuevo Diario [Managua]. 28 February 2002. Eloisa Ibarra. "Fracasa otra tentativa arnoldista contra el PC." http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/archivo/2002/febrero/28-febrero-2002/nacional/nacional7.html [Accessed 15 July 2002]

_____. 22 January 2002. Humberto Meza Lizbeth Garcia. "Verdes atacan por 2 frentes al CSE." http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/archivo/2002/enero/22-enero-2002/nacional/nacional9.html [Accessed 15 July 2002]

La Prensa [Managua]. 23 January 2002. "¿Fin del Partido Conservador?" http://www-ni.laprensa.com.ni/archivo/2002/enero/23/editorial/ [Accessed 15 July 2002]

_____. 8 July 2000. "Nicaragua Press Highlights 8 July." (FBIS-LAT-2000-0709 8 July 2000/WNC)

La Prensa de Honduras [Tegucigalpa]. 22 November 2001. "Sandinistas exigen cancelar legalidad del Partido Conservador en Nicaragua." http://www.laprensahn.com/caarc/0111/c22002.htm [Accessed 15 July 2002]

Weekly News Update on the Americas [New York]. 17 June 2001. No. 594. "Nicaragua: US Threats Over Elections." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH)

Confidencial, Managua

Human Rights Watch (HRW)

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC)

El Nuevo Diario, Managua

La Prensa, Managua

La Prensa, Panama City

World News Connection (WNC)

Search engines including:

Google