“Another farce”: US classifies municipal elections in Nicaragua as “fictitious”

05110606The US Department of State’s top official for Latin America, Brian Nichols, described this Friday (4th) ) as “another farce” the municipal elections to be held in Nicaragua on Sunday (6). “On Sunday, Nicaraguans will again be denied the right to freely and fairly elect their municipal leaders,” said the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs. 05110606In a message sent to journalists by the press office of the US Embassy in Nicaragua, Nichols argued that “while opposition leaders remain unjustly imprisoned or in exile, and their parties banned, there is no other option for the Nicaraguan people in another fictional election”.05110606

A year ago, US President Joe Biden classified the general elections in which dictator Daniel Ortega was re-elected as a “pantomime”, considered illegitimate by the majority of the international community. At the time, seven of its main candidates were in prison and two were in exile.

The ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), led by Ortega and which currently governs 862 of 117 prefectures, is the favorite to win in all Nicaraguan municipalities, due to the outlawing of three opposition parties and the arrest of their main leaders. Excluded from the election, the opposition asks the population to abstain as a form of protest.