President Ortega has been at the center of attention in Nicaragua as he has jailed his arch-rivals, and ironically as the head of the state is asking the citizens to boycott the upcoming elections, as he wishes to advance towards his 4th term.
The U.S. has called it a mockery of the election process; this has irked Ortega who alleged interference from the White House. Parties in power, Sandinista Front along with other allies are the decision-maker in Congress. Ortega was elected as President first in 1985 for a 5-year term and was again elected in 2007. He recently declared his wife, who was until now Vice President Rosario Murillo, as his “co-president.”
A few days ago The Civic Alliance, as well as the Blue and White National Union who protested against their party members being “abducted by the regime in illegal raids” and “harassment, surveillance, intimidation, assault, attacks, illegal and arbitrary detentions” respectively.
The U.S. President took a dig at Ortega, calling the election process ‘rigged’ and a ‘sham’. “The Ortega and Murillo family now rule Nicaragua as autocrats, no different from the Somoza family that Ortega and the Sandinistas fought four decades ago,” Biden further said.
The nations which share the border too shared their perspectives and policy decisions. Costa Rica’s President took a strong stand by tweeting that the Nicaraguan election result shall not be recognized as there is “the lack of democratic conditions and guarantees.”
Read More: Greenpeace, Texas Advocate Settle Cases in 2019 Climate Protest
With most members of the opposition barred from elections, the huge margin win for Ortega is actually going to be just a stolen election. The election also fears non-recognition from European Union, as the majority of the population refrains from participation.
Singing a different tune, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said that “Nicaraguans are dignified patriots and we are not going to bend to their threats, sanctions, and non-recognition of the elections.”
Read More: To Fight Climate Change the US Needs Unity: Obama