Voter fraud allegations directed at Nicaragua's Sandinistas

One of the main gains of the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua nearly 30 years ago was a system of free and fair elections that allowed voters to give President Daniel Ortega the boot in 1990 and then return him to power in 2006. Unfortunately, this hard-fought achievement is at risk now, on Ortega's watch. The opposition has declared fraud in this month's municipal elections and its protests have been put down by Sandinista mobs, clashes that threaten to spiral if the government does not take extraordinary steps to resolve questions about the results.

November 20, 2008