Electoral authorities in Nicaragua report that the ruling party won 100% of the country's mayors

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(CNN Spanish) -- 

The Supreme Electoral Council of Nicaragua reported this Monday that the United Nicaragua Triunfa alliance - led by the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front - won 100% of the country's mayoralties.

The elections concluded with conflicting views: while the authorities appreciated a good level of participation, several independent organizations perceived low voter turnout and denounced the arrests of opponents and irregularities during the process.

The president of the Supreme Electoral Council, Brenda Rocha, assured on Sunday in official digital media that she verified the attendance of voters in the precincts: "We have seen the influx in all the voting centers and we hope that this civic day will continue like this."

The opposition Blue and White National Unit, on the contrary, showed completely empty streets and voting centers in the departments of León, Masaya, Carazo and Waspán on their social networks.

CNN was unable to independently ascertain the level of turnout at the polls.

A woman votes in the municipal elections in Managua, Nicaragua, on November 6, 2022. (Credit: Oswaldo Rivas/ AFP/ Getty Images)

President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, voted near their residence in Managua.

Later, Ortega told official media: "Nicaraguans, women and men, men and women who know that this vote is a vote for peace, beyond the party to which the vote is cast, they are voting for Nicaragua and vote for Nicaragua, you are voting for peace".

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In these elections, mayors, deputy mayors and members of the municipal councils of 153 municipalities in the country are elected, according to the Supreme Electoral Council, an instance that enabled 3,106 voting centers for 3.7 million Nicaraguans over 16 years of age.

According to a preliminary report by the independent Urnas Abiertas observatory published this Sunday on its website, the municipal elections were held "under absolute territorial control" by the ruling party, since, according to the organization, "public workers, opposition figures and citizens is generally watched by the ruling party block by block, either to force them to vote or to harass them and prevent any expression of resistance".

In these elections, in addition to the ruling Sandinista Front, five other political parties are participating that the opposition considers "collaborators" with the government, although these organizations declare themselves independent.