Nicaragua’s long-serving president, Daniel Ortega, has said no more elections will be held in the country to keep the opposition from coming to power.
Ortega, an 80-year-old authoritarian leader, has been in power in the Central American country since 2007. He said he is working with the congress, controlled by his own party, to pass new laws to block the opposition and “build a wall” against them.
Ortega made the announcement at a state event on Sunday marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which he helped overthrow the brutal dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
Democracy in Nicaragua has steadily weakened under the rule of Ortega and his wife, co-president Rosario Murillo. Many see his latest announcement as a sign of an even harsher stance against the opposition.
Addressing several thousand government employees on Sunday, Ortega said: “There will be no more elections here. This is so that they [the opposition parties] cannot try to seize the government or grab power.” Local media said the employees had been forced to attend.
The president, who had not appeared in public for 61 days, added: “We will work with the National Assembly and related institutions to make new laws, because we need laws that build a wall against coup plotters and those who betray the country.”
Nicaragua is due to hold elections next year. Ortega gave no details on whether that election would be cancelled or the opposition barred from taking part.
In practice, this has already happened. During the 2021 election campaign, his government banned several political parties and jailed all the opposition’s presidential candidates.
To hold on to power, Ortega proposed and passed several constitutional reforms in congress last year, including extending the presidential term from five to six years and elevating his wife, then vice-president, Rosario Murillo, to co-president.
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