Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega announced that the country will no longer hold elections, permanently closing the door to any electoral challenge to his power. The statement comes after nearly two decades of dominance by Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, who now control almost all state institutions.
"There will be no more elections"
In a speech commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista Revolution, the 80-year-old Ortega declared that elections are a thing of the past for Nicaragua, arguing that the process was used by the opposition to seize power. "There will be no more elections here for them to try to take over the government and power," he specifically stated. According to Reuters, Ortega did not, however, provide details on how the electoral abolition will be implemented institutionally across Nicaragua's government framework.
Two decades in power
Daniel Ortega has been in power since 2007, following his return to the presidency after his first term in the 1980s. Since then, he has won consecutive electoral contests in 2011, 2016, and 2021, which have been heavily disputed by the opposition and international organizations. The most recent 2021 elections were conducted under severe repression, as several of Ortega's opponents were arrested while the government was accused of criminalizing political dissent.
His wife as "co-president"
Ortega's power was further strengthened through constitutional reforms adopted last year. The reforms provided for the elevation of his wife, Rosario Murillo, to the position of "co-president" and the extension of the presidential term to six years. The couple now controls key state mechanisms, including the armed forces and the judiciary. The UN Human Rights Council has accused the Ortega-Murillo government of turning Nicaragua into an "authoritarian state" and systematically violating human rights. In 2018, mass anti-government demonstrations were met with violent repression, during which international organizations report more than 300 people lost their lives. The US has characterized the Ortega government as a dictatorship and has imposed targeted sanctions on more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their relatives.
"Not a show of strength, but fear"
Analysts and opposition figures assess that Ortega's announcement reveals the regime's fear of a potential opposition revival. Tiziano Breda, an analyst at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, argued that Ortega and Murillo fear even a limited political loosening could create conditions that challenge their control. "Instead of organizing a controlled electoral process, they chose to eliminate electoral competition altogether," he noted. Former opposition candidate Felix Maradiaga described Ortega's statements not as a show of force but as an "admission of fear," arguing that the president admitted he wants to avoid any form of democratic contestation. Nicaragua is now moving toward a model of complete family rule, with Ortega and Murillo attempting to secure their permanence in power beyond any electoral test.
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