Nicaragua's Parliament Prepares Reforms to Ban Elections at Ortega's Request

Nicaragua's National Assembly has initiated analyses to implement President Daniel Ortega's directive to ban general elections in the Central American nation. The parliament, which is subordinate to the executive branch, announced it is developing a work plan to fulfill the presidential orders aimed at "ensuring peace, security, stability, and the continuity of achievements against poverty."

During the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution on July 19, Ortega declared his intention to prevent electoral processes that could jeopardize the ruling party's control. The National Assembly, fully controlled by the ruling party, plans to hold special sessions with the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE), also under executive authority. These sessions will focus on establishing the constitutional, legal, and formal steps necessary for reforms that underpin the "legal foundations of this transcendent aspect of institutionality."

Ortega's stance was met with strong criticism from the international community. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Ortega of revealing his "true authoritarian nature" by stating that Nicaragua would never hold elections again under his family's dictatorship. Blinken asserted that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have abandoned even the pretense of popular consent, emphasizing the Nicaraguan people's right to choose their leaders through democratic elections.

The U.S. State Department called on the international community to unite efforts and demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that maintaining normal relations is impossible while undermining democratic principles. Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also expressed deep concern over the "systematic closure of civic spaces and persecution of dissenting voices" in Nicaragua.