Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has declared that there will be no more elections in the country. The 80-year-old politician made the remarks in his first public address in two months, according to Reuters.
‘There will be no more elections here in which they (the opposition – ed.) could try to seize the government or seize power. The days when parties backed by the Yankees (i.e. the Americans – ed.) and the Somozistas (supporters of Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979 – ed.) could regain power are over and will never return,” said Ortega.
He also announced that the government, together with the National Assembly under his control, would pass a package of laws – a ‘wall’ against what Ortega described as the return of ‘coup plotters and traitors’ to power, according to the Havana Times.
Ortega has been leading Nicaragua since 2007; prior to that, he had already served as president from 1979 to 1990. His current term expires in 2027. The last elections in Nicaragua took place in 2021 – observers and human rights activists described them as rigged: prior to the vote, Ortega arrested his main rivals and business leaders, and opposition activity is banned in the country.
The Trump administration has described Ortega’s government as a dictatorship and has imposed sanctions on more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their relatives.