Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has stated that the country will no longer hold elections to prevent the opposition from coming to power. He said this during events marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, as reported by The Guardian and UNN.
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The 80-year-old head of state, who has been in power since 2007, also announced plans to pass new laws that, in his words, will "build a wall" against the political opposition.
Ortega stated that the country will no longer hold elections, "so that they can try to seize the government, seize power." According to him, the authorities will work with parliament to pass legislation that will serve as a "barrier against coup organizers and traitors."
Analysts have declared the final dismantling of the electoral system
As The Guardian notes, the next elections in Nicaragua were supposed to take place next year. At the same time, Ortega did not clarify whether this refers to their complete cancellation or further exclusion of the opposition from participating in the electoral process.
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Tiziano Breda, senior Latin America analyst at the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) organization, stated that this announcement means the country's final transition to a family dictatorship.
Instead of staging rigged elections, they decided to completely eliminate electoral competition
The publication recalls that during the 2021 presidential campaign, the authorities banned opposition parties and imprisoned all major presidential candidates. Last year, Nicaragua also passed constitutional changes that increased the presidential term from five to six years and granted Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, the status of "co-president."
According to The Guardian, international human rights organizations report that about 50 political prisoners remain in Nicaragua. Additionally, the authorities have stripped 546 people of their citizenship and closed over 5,600 non-governmental organizations, 29 universities, and 58 media outlets.
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