policy based loan of $65 million to the Government of Nicaragua due to the efforts of the United States mission that expressed serious concerns of the absence of transparency, systemic corruption, and the lack of free and fair elections in Nicaragua. (21) On February 2017, the European Parliament issued a resolution on the situation of human rights and democracy in Nicaragua and expressed concern of the deteriorating human rights situation in Nicaragua and deplores the attacks and acts of harassment to which human rights organizations and their members and independent journalists have been subjected by individuals, political forces and bodies linked to the State . (22) According to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016: [A]ctions by the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party resulted in de facto concentration of power in a single party, with an authoritarian executive branch exercising significant control over the legislative, judicial, and electoral functions. . (23) According to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016 in Nicaragua, The November 6 elections for president, vice president, national assembly members, and representatives for the Central American parliament did not meet the conditions of being free and fair … The November 6 presidential and legislative elections were marred by allegations of institutional fraud and the absence of independent opposition political parties. National observers and opposition leaders claimed rates of abstention from 60 to 70 percent. . (24) According to the Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016: Companies reported that bribery of public officials, unlawful seizures, and arbitrary assessments by customs and tax authorities were common … The courts remained particularly susceptible to bribes, manipulation, and other forms of corruption, especially by the FSLN, giving the sense that the FSLN heavily influenced CSJ and lower-level court actions. .