Nicaragua: UK statement on presidential elections

Nicaraguan elections were not free and fair. The result is not a plausible expression of democracy.

The presidential election that took place in Nicaragua on 7 November was an election in name only. It was neither free, nor fair. President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, continue in power only after having all credible opposition candidates arrested and disqualified from standing for election. The abuses that have been committed have prevented the Nicaraguan people from making the democratic choice they have the right to make.

With these manoeuvrings the Ortegas are taking Nicaragua further down the tragic path of authoritarianism. The people of Nicaragua deserve better. In recent years they have consistently been denied many of their universal human rights, among them freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly. In 2018, the Nicaraguan authorities violently repressed anti-government protests. More than 300 people were killed and many more were injured. Since then the Ortega regime has passed legislation that gives it greater control of civil and political rights; it has removed safeguards that ensured the impartiality of the electoral authorities. In order to serve the regime’s own interests the authorities have repeatedly used their powers to detain and threaten candidates and representatives of opposition parties, and to prevent them from standing for election and from taking part in democratic activities. The UK calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all opposition leaders and other political prisoners in Nicaragua and for the full restoration of all of their civil and political rights.

The UK shares the deep concern of the international community over these sad events in Nicaragua, many of which have been documented by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. It confirms its strong support for the messages of concern issued by so many countries of the region, including collectively in the Organisation of American States, at the deterioration of political and human rights in Nicaragua and the subversion of democratic processes.