{"id":1963,"date":"2026-07-23T05:06:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T05:06:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1963"},"modified":"2026-07-23T05:06:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T05:06:39","slug":"nicaraguas-parliament-moves-to-abolish-elections-under-ortegas-order-fueling-criticisms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1963","title":{"rendered":"Nicaragua\u2019s parliament moves to abolish elections under Ortega\u2019s order, fueling criticisms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MEXICO CITY (AP) \u2014 Nicaragua\u2019s lawmakers said they will carry out a plan by President Daniel Ortega<\/span> to abolish elections in the Central American country, prompting renewed criticisms Wednesday by the international community. <\/p>\n

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The move was announced in a statement Tuesday by Nicaragua\u2019s congress, which is firmly in the hands of Ortega and his wife and co-President Rosario Murillo. It said the latest constitutional overhaul will ensure Nicaragua\u2019s \u201cpeace, security and stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

The legislature was following through on Ortega\u2019s announcement from the weekend that \u201cthere won\u2019t be anymore elections,\u201d<\/span> reflecting both his effort to extend his nearly 20-year rule and remove any chance of the opposition gaining power. <\/p>\n

Under Ortega, the government has carried out a sweeping crackdown on dissent<\/span> following a violent suppression of protests in 2018<\/span>. Authorities have jailed opposition politicians, religious leaders<\/span> and others, and also shut down thousands of civil society organizations in the country. <\/p>\n

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The congress has repeatedly amended the constitution to concentrate power in Ortega\u2019s hands and eliminate any shred of democratic independence and dissent in the country.<\/p>\n

Ortega\u2019s remarks on Sunday, during a speech marking the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, effectively canceled Nicaragua\u2019s next elections. The vote was originally scheduled for November 2027 after the government-controlled congress voted in January 2025 to extend the five-year presidential term by one year.<\/p>\n

Volker T\u00fcrk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, on Wednesday sharply condemned Nicaragua\u2019s developments, saying that \u201cpeople of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese latest developments further deepen the severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the steady erosion of the rule of law,\u201d T\u00fcrk said in a statement. <\/p>\n

Nicaragua\u2019s government declined to comment on the criticism, saying in a statement, \u201cThank you for your interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

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On Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the move by Ortega and Murillo to eliminate elections in Nicaragua \u201clays bare their true authoritarian nature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere,\u201d Rubio wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

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