Nicaragua: law passed to exclude opponents from future elections
Nicaragua's National Assembly passed a controversial law targeting opponents who want to run in the 2021 elections (Illustrative image).
© AFP / STR
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3 min
The Nicaraguan parliament on Monday (December 21) approved a law that excludes from the 2021 general elections those who promote foreign sanctions against the Central American country, a clear allusion to the opposition.
The law is causing a stir.
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The law is entitled “
Defense of the rights of the people to independence, sovereignty and self-determination for peace
” and is supported by President Daniel Ortega.
It was approved this Monday, December 21 by Parliament, where the party of the Head of State, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), has a majority.
The text was adopted by 70 votes, while fifteen parliamentarians voted against and four abstained.
A law targeting opponents of the regime
The law, denounced by the opposition, establishes that "
anyone who calls for, supports and welcomes the imposition of sanctions against the State of Nicaragua
" will not be able to stand in these elections.
Anyone who foments or finances a coup, undermines the constitutional order, incites foreign interference or participates, with external funding, in acts of terrorism and destabilization is also excluded.
The President of Parliament, Gustavo Porras, justified the vote: "
Whoever wants to speak ill of the motherland, let him run (stand for elections) where he wants, especially in the examples of democracy that we see at the moment. in the empire,
”he added in an allusion to the presidential election in the United States.
The right-wing Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC) voted against, accusing the text of violating the constitutional rights of citizens.
Nicaragua will organize presidential and legislative elections in November 2021. In power since 2007, Daniel Ortega, a former Sandinista guerrilla who had already led the country from 1985 to 1990, could run for a fourth consecutive term.
Violent repression
Daniel Ortega is accused by the opposition of serious human rights violations and of having established a dictatorship marked by corruption and nepotism.
The Central American country was
rocked in 2018
by anti-government protests, the violent repression of which left at least 328 dead and 88,000 in exiles, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH).
►Also read: [Interview] Bianca Jagger: "Daniel Ortega is a traitor of the Sandinista revolution"
The authorities maintain that this challenge constituted an attempted coup d'état orchestrated by the United States.
These funds imposed a series of sanctions against government officials and members of Daniel Ortega's family.
(With AFP)
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