Nicaragua's 80-year-old President Daniel Ortega has announced that elections will no longer be held in the country, Reuters reports.
Ortega served as president from 1979 to 1990, was re-elected in 2007, and has remained in power since. He was declared the winner of the presidential elections in 2011, 2016, and 2021.
According to the head of state, the cancellation of elections is aimed at closing off avenues for the opposition. “There will be no more elections here where they can try to seize the government and power. The times when parties supported by the Yankees and Somocistas returned to power are over and will never be repeated,” he said.
Last year, Reuters noted, Ortega further consolidated power through a series of constitutional reforms, including appointing his wife Rosario Murillo as “co-president” and extending the presidential term to six years. Thus, the couple jointly controls virtually all branches of government, including the army and the judiciary.
The last elections in the country were held in 2021. At that time, former US President Joe Biden alleged that Nicaragua had imprisoned about 40 opposition politicians, including seven potential presidential candidates, on unfounded pretexts, and that the participation of political parties was restricted by authorities, “rigging” the results long before election day.
Subsequently, Biden signed an executive order imposing sanctions on Nicaragua and Ortega for human rights violations. Additionally, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Nicaragua's Attorney General's Office and nine officials for holding “sham elections.”
In 2025, Murillo announced Nicaragua's withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council, citing “disrespect for sovereignty.” According to her, the UNHRC is spreading “slander and lies aimed at discrediting the government's work and undermining national sovereignty” and failing to fulfill its mission.
He stated that these measures are necessary to prevent the opposition from coming to power. Ortega did not clarify how the abandonment of elections would be formalized in legislation.
Source: www.gazeta.uz