Nicaraguan President Ortega announces elections will no longer be held

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced during the 47th anniversary celebrations of the Sandinista Revolution that elections will no longer be held.

Scraper SystemJuly 22, 2026, 08:26 AM

Nicaraguan President Ortega announces elections will no longer be held

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced during the 47th anniversary celebrations of the Sandinista Revolution that elections will no longer be held. Addressing thousands of his supporters in the capital Managua, Ortega cited US intervention and the country's sovereignty as justification.

Ortega said, "The story of parties founded by the Yankees (US) or Somocistas (coup plotters) returning to government is over. Never, never, never... No matter how much money the Yankees give them, they will not succeed. We need to make laws that will build a wall in front of the coup supporters, the traitors."

Accusing the opposition of targeting public resources, Ortega said, "They are after making money (enriching themselves) through schools. But let them forget: elections through which they could try to seize the government and power will never be held again here."

Reaction from the opposition

Felix Maradiaga Saenz, one of the opposition figures stripped of citizenship in Nicaragua in 2023, claimed that the constitution is constantly violated or changed according to the interests of the ruling power.

Opposition leader Juan Sebastian Chamorro, who was imprisoned for a period and then sent into exile and stripped of his citizenship in 2023, said that Ortega has now openly declared the one-party rule he has de facto implemented for years. Chamorro argued that Ortega aims to establish a permanent one-party system similar to those in China, North Korea and Cuba.

Reaction from the US

According to national press reports, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also reacted to Ortega's remarks. In a statement released through the State Department, Rubio said that Daniel Ortega's statements about completely abolishing elections reveal the "true authoritarian nature" of his regime.

Ortega administration and repression

The 80-year-old Ortega governed Nicaragua in the 1980s after the victory of the Sandinista Revolution, which ended the dictatorship of the Somoza family. Returning to power in 2007, Ortega has been in charge of the country ever since.

Accused of systematically repressing the opposition in recent years, the Ortega administration has shut down numerous civil society organizations and drawn international criticism for its practices targeting journalists, human rights defenders and activists. Many civil society organizations, universities, media outlets and religious associations have been closed in the country, while the assets of many government critics have been seized.

The United Nations (UN) Group of Experts on Nicaragua argues that some actions of the Ortega government may constitute crimes against humanity. The Managua government, however, rejects these reports, describing them as so-called interventionist attempts.

Nicaraguan President Ortega announces elections will no longer be held

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced during the 47th anniversary celebrations of the Sandinista Revolution that elections will no longer be held.