The electoral process (…) has been directed by an insufficiently independent and unbiased electoral council that did not comply with its duties regarding transparency and collaboration with all parties involved. The double standard used to accredit the national observation groups, the difficulties experienced by the opposition to accredit their auditors or the absolute power held in the polling stations of one of the coordinators appointed at the last minute, an option not envisaged by law and not subject to oversight by the parties, constitute serious limitations on transparency and notably reduce the capacity to verify the key stages of the process, including the tally of results in the vote tabulation centers. The CSE has shown great capacity for the management of logistics and organization, which was evident in the process of packing and distributing the balloting materials. Nevertheless, its neutrality and independence have been questioned from the start of the current electoral process, to a large extent because, by virtue of a presidential decree that broadened its mandate in view of the National Assembly’s failure to renew the CSE, as the seven magistrates who make up the council are the same who managed the municipal elections of 2008. This extension of their term of office, which is in accordance with the Constitution, increased the perception that the CSE is aligned with the ruling party. The composition of the CSE at the lower echelons of the institution, whose limited pluralism has been observed by the EU EOM [European Union’s Election Observation Mission], has contributed to increasing this perception. 27 46. Said Mission also referred to the misuse of public funds for the campaign of the November 2011 election. Regarding this, it stressed that: The EU EOM observed a widespread and systematic use of public resources for partisan campaign purposes, a practice prohibited by article 107 of the Law on Elections. In most cases, this abuse was carried out by the FSLN, but the PLC was also observed relying on such practices in Nueva Segovia, RAAS and Estelí. Practices of misuse of public resources were similar throughout the country and above all consisted of making use of public buildings or institutions, and state‐owned vehicles. Many of these campaign events involved the mobilisation of public‐sector workers and even schoolchildren during class hours. By using the inauguration of public works or the distribution of public goods or services for partisan campaign purposes, the government blurred the lines between its official duties and the FSLN campaign, a practice that falls beneath international standards for democratic elections. Furthermore, the Citizens Power Councils (Consejos del Poder Ciudadano―CPCs), created by presidential decree, undertook significant activities during the FSLN campaign, organizing events with voters for which public goods and services were used. Unequal access to funds was evident throughout the campaign. This is largely because political party financing is virtually unregulated in Nicaragua: there are no limits on how much may be donated or spent and very few restrictions regarding funding sources. 28 47. Furthermore, the European Union Mission underscored that “the monitoring also reveals that many of the norms for the media in electoral campaigns, among which those aimed at guaranteeing equal opportunities for the candidates, have been violated without any consequences for the offenders.” In particular, it stated that: Article 90 of the Law on Elections, which sets limits for election campaigns in the media, was unanimously ignored by the parties, probably because the time-limits are flagrantly brief: at most three minutes on each television station per day, four and a half minutes on each radio station, and less than half a page in print media for each candidate daily. Regarding this failure to observe the limits, which the EU EOM had already highlighted in 2006, the FSLN is noteworthy as it had more campaigning airtime than all of its rivals put together in almost all the monitored media. This was the case on the television channels 2, 4, 6 and 8, as well as Radio Ya and Radio Nicaragua. The only exceptions were Radio Corporación, where 94% of all campaigning airtime that was examined was granted to PLI; Canal 12, where opposition parties together accounted for 55% of campaigning airtime; and Canal 14 and Radio Universidad, which have no airtime for campaigning, at least during monitoring hours. European Union, Election Observation Mission Nicaragua 2011. Presidential, legislative and Parlacen elections. Preliminary Statement, Managua, 8 November 2011. A relatively calm election day after a process lacking neutrality and transparency. Main conclusions, p. 4. 28 European Union, Election Observation Mission Nicaragua 2011. Presidential, legislative and Parlacen elections. Preliminary statement, Managua, 8 November 2011. A relatively calm election day after a process lacking neutrality and transparency. Election campaign, p. 6. 27