At stake in this election:

• 90 seats in the National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra
• Head of Government: President Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra
• Assembly: Nicaragua has a unicameral National Assembly (Asamblea Nacional) with 92 seats.

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 closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.***

* In order to avoid a run-off, a candidate must obtain either 40 percent of the vote or 35 percent with at least a 5-point lead over the nearest rival.

*** There are 17 multi-member constituencies for 70 seats (District magnitude ranging from 2 to 19) and one nationwide constituency comprising 20 seats. There is no threshold for entering parliament. One seat is reserved for the previous president and one seat for the runner-up in previous presidential election.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Sandinista National Liberation Front / Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN)
  • Leader: Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra
• Party: Liberal Constitutionalist Party / Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC)
  • Leader: Jorge CASTILLO Quant
• Party: Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance / Alianza Liberal Nicaragüense (ALN-PC)
  • Leader: Enrique QUINONEZ
• Party: Independent Liberal Party / Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI)
  • Leader: Fabio GADEA
• Party: Alliance for the Republic / Alianza por la República (APRE)
  • Leader: Róger GUEVARA

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 5,807,787 (2011)
• Registered Voters: 3,303,831 (2011)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 2,946,568 (2011)

·         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: 37 (following the 2011 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: 871,168 (est.)