Two weeks after Nicaragua holds a controversial presidential election, four Latin American civil organizations have published a comprehensive report that shows the irregularities of the electoral process and demands that the Government suspend the elections. “It is essential that democratic governments, international organizations and other relevant international actors make use of their good offices to demonstrate the lack of legitimacy of origin of the Nicaraguan Executive and Legislative powers that will be elected in the process of November 7, given the serious violations of its integrity as well as the de facto persecution and disqualification of opposition candidates, ”the report states. President Daniel Ortega is seeking his third continuous reelection in these presidential elections, in which he participates without competition after imprisoning the seven opposition candidates.
The report has been prepared by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Center for Political and Government Studies of the Andrés Bello Catholic University of Venezuela, and by the Citizen Observatory Urnas Abiertas, a non-governmental observation group and Nicaraguan electoral monitoring. These organizations denounce the maneuvers of the Ortega government to achieve an election to suit them: control of the Electoral Tribunal and voting records, exclusion of opposition political parties, persecution of critical voices, imprisonment of opposition candidates, illegal use of resources states for proselytizing purposes and the general absence of fundamental rights and freedoms. “In the absence of a shift towards the full guarantee of human rights and electoral integrity through the rescheduling of new elections, a call is made to the international community to ignore the result of the elections,” recommend the organizations that have prepared the investigation.
Since his return to the presidency in 2007 – Ortega had ruled Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990 – the former Sandinista guerrilla has developed an authoritarian government, controlled all state institutions and established a family autocracy, where he and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo , share power with their children, presidential advisers and businessmen under the umbrella of the State.
In June, Ortega launched a brutal crackdown on the opposition by imprisoning, in addition to presidential hopefuls, activists, feminists, academics and businessmen, in a hunt that has been criticized by both the United States and the European Union, which have imposed sanctions. to regime officials and to Ortega’s children and wife.
The president remains in power by force, because his popularity remains at a minimum, according to polls. The most recent has been prepared by CID-Gallup, the firm with the greatest credibility in Nicaragua, which has revealed that if the elections in Nicaragua were between Daniel Ortega and one of the seven candidates who have been arrested by the regime, the Sandinista president would only it would obtain 19% of the votes compared to 65% of the opposition, while another 16% of those consulted were undecided. The results expose a historical collapse of the official candidate and his formula.
“The international community must ignore these elections and ignore their results. The authoritarian regime of Ortega-Murillo has weakened and manipulated to the extreme the institutional framework and democratic practices and has seriously violated the human rights of the Nicaraguan people, ”said Daniel Zovatto, regional director of IDEA. “In his ambition to perpetuate himself indefinitely in power, he has stripped all integrity of the electoral system and process. We urge the international community to ignore these elections and the authorities that are elected, because it is a fraudulent, flawed process, without any credibility or legitimacy, ”he added.
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