Nicaraguan general election, 1984

A general election was held in Nicaragua on November 4, 1984, to elect a president and parliament. Approximately 1.2 million Nicaraguans voted, representing a 75% turnout, with 94% of eligible voters registered. Impartial observers from international groupings such as the European Economic Community, religious groups sent to monitor the election, and observers from democratic nations such as Canada and the Republic of Ireland concluded that the elections were completely free and fair.

The election date, November 4 was selected so that Nicaragua would have a legitimate, elected government in place before the anticipated reelection of Ronald Reagan in the United States on November 6. "The Sandinistas hoped that a competitive election with heavy turnout would deter a U.S. military intervention and reassure the FSLN’s defenders. So the Sandinistas’ decision to hold elections in 1984 was largely of foreign inspiration”.

Between 1982 and 1984 the FSLN negotiated with the opposition on the proposed Political Parties Law and Electoral Law, and ultimately these were modified "in response to several of the opposition's most significant demands." Similarly, multiple extensions of the deadline for candidate registration were granted whilst talks with the Coordinadora continued.

It has been argued that "probably a key factor in preventing the 1984 elections from establishing liberal democratic rule was the United States' policy toward Nicaragua." The Reagan administration was divided over whether or not the rightwing coalition Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense should participate in the elections, which "only complicated the efforts of the Coordinadora to develop a coherent electoral strategy." Ultimately the US administration public and private support for non-participation allowed those members of the Coordinadora who favoured a boycott to gain the upper hand.

A coalition of right-wing parties including the Social Christians, Social Democrats, and the Constitutional Liberal Party, calling itself the ‘Democratic Coordinating Committee’ (Coordinadora), decided to abstain from the elections on the grounds that the opposition parties had been given insufficient ‘guarantees,’ and not enough time to prepare for the elections. The Coordinadora’s abstentionism was publicly supported by the US government, which hoped to challenge the legitimacy of the November elections by alleging that opposition sectors were not able to participate. But despite US intervention and the Coordinadora abstention seven political parties took part in the November elections. The three right-wing parties which put forward candidates were the PCDN, PLI, and PPSC. The three opposing left-wing parties were the PSN, PC de N and MAPML.”

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