ation to serve
five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 1996 (next to be held NA 2001)
election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling
party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN
3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42,
FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PNC 1, PLI 1, AU 1,
UNO-96 Alliance 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema, 16 judges elected for
seven-year terms by the National Assembly

Political parties and leaders: Central American Integrationist Party
or PIAC ; Central American Unionist Party or PUCA [Blanca
ROJAS Echaverry]; Conservative Action Movement or MAC [Hernaldo
ZUNIGA]; Conservative National Party or PNC [Adolfo CALERO, Noel
VIDAURRE]; Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO
Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI ; Independent
Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN ;
Liberal Constitutionalist Party or PLC ; Movement
for Revolutionary Unity or MUR ; National Democratic Party
or PND ; National Project or PRONAL [Antonio
LACAYO Oyanguren]; Nationalist Liberal Party or PLN [Enrique SANCHEZ
Herdocia]; Neoliberal Party or PALI ;
Nicaraguan Democratic Movement or MDN ; Nicaraguan
Party of the Christian Road or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto
RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN ;
Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN ;
Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS ; Social
Christian Party or PSC ; Social Democratic Party or PSD
; Unity Alliance or AU ; UNO-96
Alliance
note: political blocs include: left - FSLN; center left - MRS, PSD,
PSC, MUR, PIAC, AU, PCN, PND, PUCA, UNO-96 Alliance, and MDN; center
right - PALI, PRN, PLI, PRONAL, and MAC; right - PCCN, PLC, PLIUN,
PNC, and PLN

Political pressure groups and leaders: National Workers Front or FNT
is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions: Farm Workers
Association or ATC; Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD; Heroes and
Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO;
National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN; National
Union of Employees or UNE; and the National Union of Farmers and
Ranchers or UNAG; National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista
umbrella group of eight labor unions: Sandinista Workers Central or
CST; Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of
Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor
unions: Autonomous Nica