UN rights chief condemns Nicaragua after Ortega election threat

The United Nations rights chief condemned Nicaragua's crackdown on civil and political rights after leader Daniel Ortega said elections would not be held to prevent the opposition from winning.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the latest developments deepened severe limits on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space and the erosion of the rule of law in Nicaragua. He warned that power in the country was increasingly being placed under the co-presidency.

Ortega, a former leftist guerrilla who has been in power for almost two decades, said Sunday that there would be no elections in Nicaragua involving dissenting individuals and groups. Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have ruled Nicaragua with near-total power for nearly two decades.

The source said Nicaragua had been due to hold general elections in November, but constitutional reforms adopted about a year and a half ago extended the presidential term from five to six years, meaning elections are now scheduled for 2027.

Turk called on Nicaraguan authorities to reopen civic space and restore the rule of law. He said people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office in line with Nicaragua's international human rights obligations.

He said the ruling party controls parliament, all municipalities and the North and South Caribbean Coast Regional Councils. He also said the government had earlier this month abruptly revoked the credentials of several lawyers without any legal basis, while at least 46 people remain arbitrarily detained for political reasons.

Turk's statement said civic space in Nicaragua is nearly closed and independent expression of thought or opinion is systematically suppressed. He also raised concern about repression against the Catholic Church and other religious denominations, including the unknown fate of 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, who was detained on 29 June.

Turk urged the authorities to immediately release all people arbitrarily detained and to ensure that all detainees are treated with humanity and dignity under Nicaragua's international human rights obligations.