During a speech commemorating the 1979 revolution that brought the Sandinistas to power, President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua announced that there will be no more elections during his rule. This declaration, made on Sunday, effectively cancels the next planned election, which was initially set for November 2027. The government had delayed it in January 2025 by expanding the presidential term by one year through a Congress that is under its control.
Since assuming power in 2007, Ortega has worked to alter the nation's constitution and silence any form of political opposition. His re-election in 2021, which he claimed victory in, was not recognized by much of the world after all potential challengers were imprisoned. The U.S.
After Ortega regained the presidency in 2007, he has made sure the Sandinista party holds control over major institutions like the judiciary, the media, and the legislature. With the violent crackdown on protests in 2018, which killed hundreds, Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who serves as co-President, have tightened their grip on the nation's leadership.
Political opponents and advocates for human rights have seen this new declaration as a step forward in Ortega's strategy to eliminate all competition. Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a former presidential candidate in 2021 who spent time in jail before being sent to the U.S. in 2023, has pointed out the similarities of this approach to one-party systems. Tiziano Breda, an analyst specializing in Latin America with ACLED, says Ortega and Murillo seem to fear that even minor political changes could lead to unrest.
Danny Ramírez Ayérdiz, a lawyer from Argentina working for a human rights group, said the move shows the true nature of a dictatorship that no longer tries to hide its actions. He warned that this could mean more harsh treatment for people who push for change or fair elections.
The Mechanism for Recognition of Political Prisoners reports that at least 46 people are being held in Nicaragua for political reasons. The government insists it does not hold political prisoners. After a U.S. military operation in January that targeted Venezuela's former president Nicolás Maduro, Nicaragua claimed it would free more prisoners, possibly to reduce global criticism. However, no more details have been given, and at least one activist has died in jail since then.
In the past few years, the government has sent hundreds of detained activists, religious leaders, and politicians to the U.S. and Guatemala, often taking away their Nicaraguan citizenship and possessions. Those who were released have shared stories about their time in prison, describing it as lonely and involving both physical and psychological torture.
Since 2018, over 5,000 organizations, mostly of a religious nature, have been closed, and thousands have had to leave the country. In July 2024, the government took action against thousands of lawyers by revoking their licenses, an effort the U.N. has characterized as a “purge of the legal profession.”