Nicaragua goes to the polls in an attempt by Ortega to accumulate power for five more years

Nicaragua is called to the polls this Sunday, in a general election called an “electoral farce” by the opposition and much of the international community. Forecasts suggest that the former leader of the Sandinista revolution, Daniel Ortega, will take over a fourth consecutive term, accumulating power for five more years.

Three opposition parties may not participate in the elections by decision of the Supreme Electoral Council, while seven candidates for the Presidency by the opposition remain detained and two they opted for exile after hearing arrest warrants against him, so Ortega’s victory is emerging as the only option.

In addition, the Executive has appointed 15,000 Nicaraguan Army personnel and 16,665 National Police officers, who will be in charge of maintaining security, both inside and outside the Voting Centers.

The president and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have demanded that the international community not meddle in “internal affairs” in Nicaragua, and have promised to keep the country on the path of “revolution.”

The Nicaraguan government has thus denied access to journalists from various media outlets to the country. In addition, has rejected the presence of independent observers, replacing them with a new figure called “electoral companions”.

Concern of the international community

The deputy director of the Americas division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Tamara Taraciuk, lamented that the situation in the Central American country “has been deteriorating for years.” He has detailed that, “progressively, the Ortega and Murillo regime has seized power, gradually co-opting the judiciary, the Supreme Electoral Council, and the National Assembly.”

The electoral call and the development of the entire campaign have been marked by a international pressure that, however, “has been insufficient to force Ortega to stop his repressive escalation.”

But not only the situation of Human Rights worries the international community, in the electoral arena “the regime has implemented repressive strategies aimed at dismantle the opposition, deter any protest against the government through fear and pave the way for reelection, “Taraciuk warned.

In this context, a “wave of arbitrary arrests”, which in some cases has led to the imprisonment of critics of Ortega, including seven presidential candidates, as well as journalists, defense lawyers, student leaders and peasants.

The “hunt” of critics is endorsed by the approval of a series of “abusive laws and reforms that violate fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and the press, and that restrict the political participation of opposition candidates.” laws passed by the National Assembly, controlled by supporters of the regime.

For all these reasons, “in Nicaragua conditions do not exist today for free, fair and competitive elections“Therefore,” without opposition, it can only be expected that on November 7, Ortega will be the winner, “concluded Taraciuk.

For its part, the United States government has been willing to toughen sanctions that weigh against Nicaragua after the elections, stating that “we have not yet used all the foreign policy tools available.”

The United States and the European Union have already denounced that the elections will be held without minimum guarantees, which allows anticipating that they won’t recognize your result. China and Russia, meanwhile, emerge as potential aids from the president, who also continues to enjoy the public support of the allied countries in Latin America, united in the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALNBA).