Nicaragua's president vows to block opposition, cancels future elections

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has declared that the country will not hold future elections, arguing that the opposition must be prevented from returning to power.

The 80-year-old leader, who has governed Nicaragua since 2007, also said he intends to work with the legislature under his control to introduce laws designed to strengthen barriers against political opponents, Caliber.Az reports via The Guardian.

Ortega made the remarks on July 19 during a state ceremony commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, which brought down the regime of Anastasio Somoza in 1979.

Addressing a crowd of thousands of public-sector employees, whom local media reports said were pressured to attend, Ortega stated: “There will be no more elections here so that they [the opposition parties] can try to seize the government, seize power.”

The president, appearing publicly for the first time in 61 days, also added: “We will work with the National Assembly and the relevant institutions on laws, because we need laws that build a wall, a barrier, against the coup plotters and the traitors who sell out their country.”

Although national elections are scheduled for next year, Ortega did not clarify whether the vote would be formally cancelled or whether opposition groups would simply be excluded from participation — a situation that critics say already exists. Ahead of the 2021 election, authorities banned opposition parties and detained all major presidential challengers.

By Jeyhun Aghazada