[3] Following the revolution that overthrew Somoza, Violeta Chamorro initially supported the FSLN government, accepting an invitation to join the Junta of National Reconstruction.

In April 1989 the Electoral Law was reformed, giving the opposition a larger share of public campaign funds, increased access to state run media and permission to receive foreign financing.

[4] With a diverse coalition of 14 opposition groups,[2] the UNO mainly campaigned on a promise to end the decades of civil war and instability that wracked the country.

[5][6] The election was organized by Mariano Fiallos Oyanguren, a law professor and Sandinista who was appointed by the FSLN in 1984 to head the Supreme Electoral Council.

Antonio Lacayo, a Sandinista supporter who voted for Ortega but ultimately served as a central figure in the Violeta Chamorro administration, said later: “Without Mariano Fiallos [Oyanguren] there would have been no democratic transition in 1990.”[8] Possible explanations for the ONU victory include that the Nicaraguan people were disenchanted with the Ortega government, specifically discontentment with the management of the economy and the hostile posture toward the United States, believing the ONU was more likely to bring peace.