Nicaragua's Ortega Vows No More Elections to Block Opposition

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has declared that elections will not be held again in his country, explicitly stating his intention to prevent exiled opposition figures from ever reaching the government. "They can forget it, here (in Nicaragua) there will be no more elections so that they can try to capture the government and capture power through them," Ortega announced during a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution in Managua.

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They can forget it, here (in Nicaragua) there will be no more elections so that they can try to capture the government and capture power through them.

Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 after ruling in the 1980s, governs alongside his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. He asserted that opposition parties, which he referred to as being supported by the United States, will "never, never, never" return to power. This declaration comes as Nicaragua was scheduled to hold general elections in November, but a constitutional reform extended presidential terms from five to six years, pushing the next elections to November 2027.

The president further indicated that new laws will be drafted and approved with the National Assembly to create a "wall" or "blockade" against what he termed "coup plotters" and "traitors to the homeland." He vowed that regardless of financial support from the U.S., these opposition groups would not succeed in gaining power.

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here the story is over that the parties put in by the yanquis (United States) will return to government, never, never, never.

Ortega and Murillo wield absolute power in Nicaragua, maintaining tight control over society, particularly since the 2018 protests which resulted in over 300 deaths according to UN figures. Opposition figures, journalists, intellectuals, and religious critics have faced imprisonment, exile, and the stripping of their nationality and assets. Thousands of Nicaraguans currently reside as refugees in countries like Costa Rica, Spain, and the United States.

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We are going to work with the National Assembly and with the corresponding organizations, because we have to make laws that put up a wall, a block to the coup plotters, to the traitors to the homeland, and that no matter how much money the yanquis give them, they will not be able to" reach power.