On Sunday, November 8, Nicaragua held what is widely being denounced as a rigged electoral process. Over the last few months, the Ortega-Murillo regime jailed numerous opposition figures, including several potential presidential candidates, blocked political parties from participating and engaged in widespread attacks against the country’s press. Today, the country’s electoral authorities announced that Daniel Ortega received 75% of the votes.
In reaction to this disturbing development, Florida Democratic Party Chair Manny Diaz issued the following statement:
“Nicaragua’s sham elections confirm what so many of us have been saying for years: democracy has ceased to exist in this long-suffering Central American country. After imprisoning nearly 40 opposition figures over the last months, including seven potential presidential candidates blocking political parties from participating and attacking the nation’s free press, yesterday’s elections are simply the culmination of a concerted, systematic effort to create a full-fledged dictatorship in Nicaragua. Now Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, rule the country as autocrats in spite of their profound unpopularity and a long-standing record of brutality, corruption and gross mismanagement.
“I fully support the Biden administration’s call for Daniel Ortega Ortega and Murillo to release all political prisoners and immediately restore democracy to this beleaguered nation. Barring that, the United States must use all diplomatic and economic tools at its disposal to support the people of Nicaragua in their fight for freedom and democracy in their country.”
Statement from Florida Democratic Party Chair Denouncing Nicaragua’s Sham Elections
