Politics News

Nicaragua's Ortega says there will be 'no more elections', cancelling the vote due in 2027

Nicaragua's president Daniel Ortega, 80, told supporters on Sunday, July 19, at the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, that the country will no longer hold elections. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, said he presented the move as a way to stop an opposition he claims is controlled by the United States. NPR said the announcement effectively cancels the vote that had been scheduled for November 2027.

“There won't be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power.” — Daniel Ortega, via Al Jazeera

Ortega has been in power since 2007. Al Jazeera noted that his wife, Rosario Murillo, was made co-president last year, and that a UN Human Rights Council report has accused the couple of arbitrary detention, torture and persecution of the media. NPR cited at least 46 people imprisoned for political reasons, a figure Nicaragua denies, and more than 5,000 organisations shut since 2018.

How each outlet framed it

• Al Jazeera — the speech and its anti-US language, set against the 2018 crackdown that killed more than 300 people.
• NPR — what it means in practice, through voices of the opposition: 2021 candidate Juan Sebastián Chamorro compared it to one-party states such as China and Cuba, and ACLED analyst Tiziano Breda said the government chose to “eliminate electoral competition altogether.”
• Vatican News — a short report, notable because the government has closed many religious organisations.

What we don't know yet: NPR reported no new US statement; Washington already does not recognise Ortega's presidency.