Immediately after the close of the voting, the Chairman of America, Joe BidenHe raised his voice against authoritarian rule in Nicaragua, saying the vote was a “spectacle”: “neither free nor fair, and almost certainly not democratic,” he wrote.
“The arbitrary arrests of nearly 40 opponents since May – including seven potential presidential candidates – and a moratorium on political party participation have manipulated the results long before election day,” Biden said in a statement.
Joe Biden during the first day of COP26 in Glasgow, USA, November 1, 2021 – Photo: Yves Herman / Pool / AFP
The United States exerts strong pressure against Nicaragua, especially after Ortega tightened the regime in 2018 – when Hundreds died in the action of protests against the government.
Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo – who is also the president’s wife – should be able to be re-elected without difficulty, Nicaraguan media projections indicate. The result was not officially confirmed until 22:00 (GMT) this Sunday.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega (right), his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo (left) and daughter Camila Ortega (Sen.) celebrate 40 years of the Sandinista Revolution, June 2019 Photo – Photo: Inti Ocon / AFP
The current president has faced five unidentified candidates who have been accused of collaborating with the government. holding seven former candidates It has jailed dozens of politicians, businessmen, farmers, students and journalists since May.
A poll by the Seed-Gallup Institute shows that 65% would vote for an opponent and 19% would vote for Ortega. But the pro-government M&R Institute says 70% will vote for the current president and 11.2% for unknown candidates.
Opponents imprisoned or in exile
Man walks behind an advertisement for Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega at the start of the presidential election campaign in Managua in September – Photo: Reuters/Mayor Valenzuela
The favorite to be elected was Cristiana Chamorro, daughter of former President Violet Barrios (1990–1997) and who is currently home prison.
The detainees are accused of attacking sovereignty and promoting sanctions against Nicaragua, “betrayal of the homeland” or “money laundering” that, based on laws passed by Congress in 2020, stymie government control as well as judiciary and officials. based on elections.
For Ortega, the more than 150 detained since 2018 are not anti-politicians, but “criminals” and “coupists” sponsored by Washington.
Remembered in the video of a newspaper attack by Nicaraguan police
Nicaraguan police attacked the headquarters of the country’s largest newspaper
More than 100,000 Nicaraguans went into exile during the political crisis, primarily the United States and Costa Rica.
Thus, Ortega’s government rejected international observation by bodies such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union.
European diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that the elections would not be valid because Ortega had arrested all other candidates.
“Mr. Ortega was concerned about the arrest of all political candidates who presented themselves in these elections and we cannot expect this process to reach an outcome that we may consider valid, but the opposite,” Borrell said. declared.
