Nicaragua's Ortega says country will hold no more elections
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said the country will no longer hold elections as a mechanism for the opposition to reach power, speaking at an event marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista uprising in Managua. The declaration marks a sharp shift in how Ortega's government frames the transfer of power.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega told a crowd in Managua marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista uprising that the country will no longer hold elections as a path for the opposition to reach power. "There will be no more elections here for them to try to seize the government, to seize power," he said.
The remarks came during commemorations of the 1979 revolution that overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Ortega's statement marks a sharp break from the country's prior framing of elections as the mechanism through which political power changes hands.
International reaction to the declaration has not yet fully taken shape. Regional observers say how Nicaragua's political process will unfold from here should become clearer in the coming weeks.
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