Ortega announces end of elections in Nicaragua

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has announced that the country will no longer hold elections, arguing that the measure is necessary to prevent the opposition from taking power, Reuters reported, CE Report quotes MOLDPRES.

Speaking during celebrations marking the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution, Ortega said:

"There will be no more elections here, so that they (the opposition) cannot try to take over the government and power."

The Nicaraguan leader did not explain what legal mechanism would be used to formally abolish future elections.

Ortega, 80, has been president since 2007, having previously served from 1985 to 1990. He secured another term in the 2021 presidential election, a vote widely criticized internationally after several opposition candidates were arrested or prevented from running. Among them was opposition figure Félix Maradiaga, who was imprisoned from 2021 to 2023 before being expelled to the United States.

In 2025, Nicaragua amended its Constitution, extending Ortega's presidential term by another six years and creating the position of "co-president," which is held by his wife, Rosario Murillo.

The United States considers Nicaragua's government to be a dictatorship and has imposed sanctions on more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials. The United Nations has repeatedly accused the authorities in Managua of systematic human rights violations.

According to international organizations, more than 300 people were killed during the government's crackdown on anti-government protests in 2018.

In foreign policy, Nicaragua was among the five countries that, in October 2022, refused to support a United Nations General Assembly resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories.