Nicaragua Congress to vote on barring opposition from elections

Nicaragua's Congress, under the firm control of President Daniel Ortega's government, is set to vote in early August on a legislative reform designed to bar opposition parties from participating in elections. This move directly follows a request from Ortega, who has increasingly consolidated power and marginalized dissent.

Gustavo Porras, the head of the legislature, announced that deputies and the electoral authority will finalize the "elements to leave no loophole" that could allow "terrible manipulation by empires and their lackeys." Porras specifically targeted opposition figures, whom Ortega has labeled "traitors" acting on behalf of the United States. The proposed reforms are expected to be put to a vote in the first week of August, following discussions in commissions of the National Assembly and the Supreme Electoral Council.

Ortega, who has been in power for nearly two decades, first signaled his intention to prevent electoral competition from his adversaries during a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution. His announcement drew widespread condemnation from international governments, organizations, and exiled opposition groups. The United States stated it would not stand idly by in response to these developments.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned Ortega's initiative, calling on the government to "restore the rule of law." He stressed that "all persons of any political tendency must be able to vote." Türk further commented that these actions "further accentuate the serious restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the constant erosion of the rule of law."

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Restablecer el Estado de derecho. Todas las personas de cualquier tendencia política deben poder votar.