The UK chancellor, Lord Goldsmith, declared this Saturday that the “November elections will lack credibility” in Nicaragua, due to all the maneuvering of the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo against the opposition in the country, including the arrest of more than 30 recognized opponents.
In a statement issued regarding Nicaragua’s elections, the foreign minister said: “With the arrest of opposition figures, including seven potential presidential candidates, and the suppression of basic rights and freedoms, the November elections will lack credibility.”
Ortega and Murillo have been hunting opponents for more than two months and have arrested 33 people in prison, increasing the number of political prisoners already in place. The latest arrested, on the same Saturday, was Juan Lorenzo Holman, secretary of the board of directors of the newspaper LA PRENSA, hours after the raid and illegal seizure of the newspaper’s offices to investigate alleged customs fraud and money laundering.
With Holman, there are already 33 political prisoners in just 79 days.
The actions taken by President Ortega and Vice President Murillo to prevent free and fair elections in Nicaragua are a clear abuse of power. The British chancellor said in his statement that the regime’s attempts to suppress the opposition, including banning all opposition parties, would deprive Nicaragua of their right to vote for a candidate of their choice.
“This growing authoritarianism must end. The rule of law and the rights of the Nicaraguan people must be respected with free and fair elections re-established. The UK will continue to work with its partners to promote a peaceful and democratic outcome.”
The general elections are scheduled for November 7, but Ortega assured himself, with the imprisonment of opponents and the abolition of political parties, an election without counterbalance.
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