The Diplomat
The Spanish government yesterday expressed its conviction that the electoral process in Nicaragua will not offer a guaranteed and credible result and urged Daniel Ortega’s regime to stop the repression against the opposition and the media.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the government “regrets” the decision of the Nicaraguan Supreme Electoral Council to cancel the legal status of the Nicaraguan opposition party Ciudadanos Por La Libertad (CxL), the last of those that had not yet been eliminated.
The government, which has already expressed its rejection of the Nicaraguan president’s actions on other occasions in the run-up to the elections scheduled for November, points out that the measures adopted, such as the approval of an electoral reform that was not consensual and far removed from the recommendations of the OAS and the EU, the enactment of a wealth of restrictive legislation and, in particular, the detention of the main opposition leaders and candidates for the elections, “prevent the electoral process in the making from offering a guaranteed and credible result”.
The communiqué considers it urgent for Nicaragua to equip itself with an independent, impartial electoral authority not controlled by the ruling party. Only a credible, inclusive and transparent electoral process in accordance with international democratic standards can offer a way out of the social, political and economic crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing,” it states.
The government also recalls the obligation of the Nicaraguan state to comply with its international human rights commitments and its own constitutional precepts, guaranteeing the rights and guarantees of all its citizens.
The government concludes the communiqué by urging, once again, Daniel Ortega’s government to “release the detained political actors without delay, to restore the legal personality of the political parties and civil organisations of the opposition, allowing their free participation in the elections”. It also demands that he “stop the repression against political and social actors of the opposition, as well as the harassment of independent media”.
