Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega announced last night that his country will no longer hold elections, eliminating any possibility of an electoral challenge when his term ends next year and further entrenching the rule he shares with his wife, Rosario Murillo.
Ortega made the declaration during a ceremony marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which he helped overthrow the U.S.-backed Anastasio Somoza dictatorship. “There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” he said, adding that his government would work with the National Assembly to pass laws that would “build a wall” against what he called “coup plotters and traitors.”
General elections had been scheduled for November 2026, when Ortega’s current term was set to end. The 80-year-old leader gave no details on how the electoral ban would be formally implemented or whether it would require further constitutional changes.
Consolidation of Authoritarian Rule
The announcement represents a dramatic escalation in Nicaragua’s democratic collapse, which has accelerated over the past two years. In January 2025, Ortega pushed through sweeping constitutional reforms that extended the presidential term from five to six years and officially designated his wife as “co-president,” cementing a family-run system of governance.
The 2021 election, which Ortega won, was widely disputed internationally. According to reports, his regime detained all opposition presidential hopefuls and outlawed opposition parties, ensuring no genuine competition existed. The U.S. State Department has described the Ortega government as a dictatorship and imposed sanctions on more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their relatives.
Analysts say the declaration reveals the couple’s fear of losing power. Tiziano Breda, a senior analyst at Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, told Reuters: “Ortega and Murillo are evidently afraid at the idea that the slightest political opening could create the conditions for dissent to manifest and threaten their grip on power. Instead of staging a rigged election, they have opted to eliminate electoral competition altogether.”
Felix Maradiaga, an opposition presidential hopeful who was jailed from 2021 to 2023 before being expelled to the U.S., described Ortega’s move as “a confession of fear.” He told Reuters: “Ortega publicly acknowledged what has always been his true intention: to prevent his tyrannical project from being subjected to any form of democratic competition.”
According to Human Rights Watch and other organizations, Nicaragua now holds approximately 50 political prisoners. The regime has stripped 546 people of their citizenship, shut down more than 5,600 non-governmental organizations, closed 29 universities, and shut down 58 media outlets. A 2018 crackdown on anti-government protests killed more than 300 people, according to the U.N. Human Rights Council.
Sources
- Reuters — Ortega’s announcement and quotes from analysts and opposition figures; details on sanctions and previous elections
- The Guardian — Ortega’s speech, the 47th Sandinista anniversary ceremony, constitutional reforms extending presidential term and establishing co-presidency
- AP News — Confirmation of Ortega’s announcement and his term ending next year
- International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) — Details on January 2025 constitutional reforms extending presidential term to six years
