Elections & Democracy
Nicaragua legislature to vote on excluding opposition parties from elections
Nicaragua's legislature will vote next month on whether to exclude opposition parties from elections, as requested by President Daniel Ortega, National Assembly chief Gustavo Porras said Wednesday.
Ortega, a former leftist guerrilla who has been in power for almost two decades, said Sunday that Nicaragua would not hold elections that include dissenting individuals and groups. The announcement drew condemnation from governments, non-governmental organizations and exiled political opponents.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X that the United States would not stand by while what he called the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship deepens repression at home and creates instability that threatens US national security. Rubio was referring to Ortega and his wife and co-president, Rosario Murillo.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Ortega's initiative on Wednesday and urged the government to immediately release all people he said had been arbitrarily detained. Turk also called on authorities to reopen civic space, restore the rule of law and allow people of all political views to vote and run for office.
Porras said discussions on the measure in the National Assembly and Supreme Electoral Council would start Wednesday and that a vote would take place in the first week of August. He told government-aligned news outlets that Nicaraguans decide when and how the country holds elections.
Porras said electoral authorities would define measures to ensure there was no opening in elections for what he described as manipulation by empires and their lackeys, referring to opposition parties. He said Ortega meant that elections would not again be in the hands of imperialists.
About 300 people were killed in large anti-government protests in 2018. The crackdown led hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to leave the country, while the government has jailed hundreds of opponents.
In his Sunday speech, Ortega accused opposition elements of being sellouts working for the United States. He said his government would create laws to put up a wall against them and block what he called coup-mongers.
Ortega, 80, first led Nicaragua after the leftist Sandinista revolution toppled the US-backed right-wing regime of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He served as president from 1985 to 1990, ran again in 2006 and has been re-elected three times since, in elections condemned for irregularities. In the 2021 election, he won by a wide margin after opponents were imprisoned.
Opposition leaders interviewed by AFP said Ortega's announcement shows he fears losing a fair election. Felix Maradiaga, an ex-presidential contender and former political prisoner living in the United States, said Ortega was admitting that the opposition had not been neutralized and that the desire for change remained.
Almost a million Nicaraguans have sought exile in Costa Rica, the United States and Spain over the last eight years. Around 500 opposition activists, priests, journalists and intellectuals, including early Sandinista figures Sergio Ramirez and Giaconda Belli, have been stripped of their nationality and assets.
Opponents say Murillo, 75, is seeking to maintain power because of Ortega's failing health. The source said Ortega is being treated for lupus and kidney failure.
Update
National Assembly chief Gustavo Porras said discussions on the measure in the National Assembly and Supreme Electoral Council start Wednesday and a vote is expected in the first week of August.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the move on X.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk condemned Ortega's initiative and called for detained people to be released, civic space reopened and the rule of law restored.
Porras said electoral authorities will define measures to prevent what he described as manipulation by empires and their lackeys.
Ortega accused opposition elements of being sellouts working for the United States and said his government would create laws to block them.
Opposition figure Felix Maradiaga said Ortega's announcement shows he fears losing a fair election.
The source says almost a million Nicaraguans have sought exile in Costa Rica, the United States and Spain over the last eight years.
The source says around 500 opposition activists, priests, journalists and intellectuals have been stripped of nationality and assets.
Opponents say co-president Rosario Murillo is seeking to maintain power because of Ortega's failing health.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 20:38:16 UTC.
Update
Discussions on the measure in the National Assembly and Supreme Electoral Council were to start on Wednesday.
National Assembly president Gustavo Porras said the initiative would be transformed into law.
Porras said electoral authorities would define elements intended to prevent what he called manipulation by empires and their lackeys.
The source adds that constitutional reforms extended the presidential term from five to six years, moving general elections to 2027, and made Rosario Murillo co-president.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 18:31:01 UTC.
Update
Nicaragua's Congress is to hold an August vote on excluding the opposition from elections, according to an official.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 17:34:31 UTC.
Update
Volker Turk said power in Nicaragua was increasingly being placed under the co-presidency.
The UN said more than 300 people died after a crackdown on protests in 2018.
Constitutional reforms extended the presidential term from five to six years, moving general elections to 2027.
Turk said Nicaragua's ruling party controls parliament, all municipalities and the North and South Caribbean Coast Regional Councils.
The Nicaraguan government revoked the credentials of several lawyers earlier this month without any legal basis, according to Turk's statement.
At least 46 people remain arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua for political reasons, according to the source.
Turk voiced concern about repression against the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, including the unknown fate of 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, detained on 29 June.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 12:07:58 UTC.
Update
Daniel Ortega vowed to block elections to stop the opposition winning.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called on Nicaragua's authorities to reopen civic space and restore the rule of law.
Turk said people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office under Nicaragua's international human rights obligations.
Source note: AFP news report published on 22 July 2026 at 11:34:36 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The proposed exclusion measure has not yet been voted on.
The final details of the electoral restrictions are still to be defined by electoral authorities.
Source
AFP news report published on .