After the fall of Somoza, it quickly became apparent to Robelo and Chamorro that they did not have any real power and Chamorro resigned on April 19, 1980,[8] followed by Robelo three days later.[9] On May 18, they were replaced by Arturo Cruz and Rafael Córdova Rivas. Cruz would resign in March 1981, though he agreed for a time to be ambassador to the United States.[10]
On March 4, Cruz's appointment to Washington was announced,[11] together with Hassan's departure for the Council of State[12] and Ortega's promotion to Coordinator of the now three-member junta. While the junta may have offered little authority to its non-Sandinista members, the public role did help to solidify Ortega's primacy within the FSLN directorate and enhance Ramírez's prominence.
On November 4, 1984, a presidential election was held,[13] which was won by leading junta member and revolutionary Daniel Ortega and his running mate, Sergio Ramírez as vice president.[3] However, some opposition parties boycotted it, claiming unfair conditions.[14][15] While the Reagan administration and many mainstream United States media outlets alleged the election would be neither free nor fair,[16] numerous electoral watchers affiliated with Western European governments, as well as United States non-governmental organizations, declared the results legitimate.[17][18] Ortega took office on January 10, 1985, and the junta was dissolved.