Now the parties have a new deadline: the Feb. 6 elections.

But only three weeks remain before the Feb. 25 election, and American officials say the Sandinistas have reneged on similar promises in the past.

The list of impediments to holding the Feb. 4 election is long and starts with a lack of residents.

In a 25-minute block of prime time television tonight, commercials began for the two candidates for prime minister for the Feb. 6 elections.

Broadcast repeatedly throughout the nation on Monday, it was a powerful, even pivotal moment in the lackluster campaign for the Feb. 6 election.

Under election rules, the winner from the Feb. 7 election needs 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a run-off.

Three of the candidates from the Feb. 20 election say they are running, or are likely to run, next month.

But the number of disqualifications for the Feb. 20 elections represented the most drastic action the council has taken against reformers in the country's parliamentary history.

Mr. Barak also said he would suspend Israel's participation in the peace effort until after the Feb. 6 election.

The reality, however unpalatable for Nicaragua, is that the contras are likely to be around, in some form, until the Feb. 25 election.