How hundreds of Nicaraguans secretly monitored the presidential election
They planned their mission for months, communicating through encrypted texts to avoid detection by authorities. The Nicaraguan government had excluded traditional international monitors to scrutinize the presidential election Sunday. So about 1,450 volunteers stationed themselves at 563 voting centers across the country to do the job themselves. There was little doubt who would win. In the ...
They planned their mission for months, communicating through encrypted texts to avoid detection by authorities.
The Nicaraguan government had excluded traditional international monitors to scrutinize the presidential election Sunday. So about 1,450 volunteers stationed themselves at 563 voting centers across the country to do the job themselves.
There was little doubt who would win. In the run-up to the election, the government of Daniel Ortega, a former guerrilla who has been president since 2007, had arrested seven potential candidates and jailed dozens of critics. Officially, his Sandinista National Liberation Front captured 75% of the vote.
The grassroots poll-watching effort, led
