Daniel Ortega: America rejects the Nicaraguan elections: “They have no democratic legitimacy” | international

Daniel Ortega’s system suffered on Friday Strong diplomatic setback. The General Assembly of the Organization of American States, organized in Guatemala, voted in favor of a resolution stating that Last Sunday’s electionsOrtega, where Ortega was re-elected with 75% of the vote, “has no democratic legitimacy” and orders the permanent council of that continental body to make a “collective assessment” of the political crisis in Nicaragua, conclusions which must be submitted before 30 November. The Managua delegation rejected this decision, while seven countries abstained, including Mexico. Luz Elena Baños, Mexican representative to the Organization of American States, reported that she had expressed concern to the Ortega government about the political situation in Nicaragua, but her country remained on the sidelines during the vote under the call’s laissez-faire guidelines. Estrada’s doctrine.

Nicaragua held a disputed presidential election on Sunday in which Daniel Ortega participated without real political competition after seven opposition candidates were jailed, as well as dozens of critics arrested. Ortega controls the entire electoral apparatus and parliament, which approved electoral reforms designed for the president and took the opposition out of the political game. Opponents considered the elections a “farce” and at least 40 countries rejected the results, including the United States, Spain, members of the European Union and several Latin American countries.

Honduras’ abstention on Friday was eloquent. The government of Juan Orlando Hernandez has become a strategic ally of the Ortega regime, with whom it has signed treaties demarcating the borders of both countries in the Gulf of Fonseca and the Caribbean, in an initiative that alarmed El Salvador, which maintains a dispute over spaces in the bay. Najib Boukeel’s government He was the first to vote in favor of the resolution against Ortega.

During Friday’s hearing, Managua rejected the decision, claiming that the Organization of American States was interfering in the internal affairs of the Central American country. The Nicaraguan government claims that the elections were fair and that 65% of voters participated in them. Independent organizations such as Urnas Abiertas asserted, however, that the abstention was imposed on Sunday with a high rate of 81%. Although Ortega vetoed the independent press and foreign correspondents, the media managed to document a low presence in the voting boards, while the country’s cities appeared empty, responding to the opposition’s call not to participate in the process.

The resolution approved on Friday states that the elections “were not free, fair and transparent and had no democratic legitimacy.” He also asserts that Nicaragua’s democratic institutions have been “seriously undermined” by the regime and criticizes that the government has “categorically rejected” initiatives to promote democracy in the Central American country. The document also asks the Organization of American States to conduct an immediate assessment of the political situation in Nicaragua, the results of which should be ready before November 30. They also demand the Ortega regime to release political prisoners who, according to the complaints of their relatives, are subjected to serious violations of their rights.

The rejection of the elections sparked a heated debate among the progressive movements in Latin America. Support of the Communist Party of Chile for Ortega He put the left candidate in troubleGabriel Borek on election days. Chile rejected the election results and the communist decision criticizes this official position. “The people of Nicaragua went to the polls en masse to elect their powers democratically, and they did so peacefully, in accordance with their institutional framework and existing laws,” reads the communist party text, which raised dust amid the elections. political campaign. Borek had to distance himself from his allies. “I call on PC to retract its position before Nicaragua,” he asked on Friday. Controversy also erupted in Brazil, where Labor leaders celebrated Ortega’s victory. For Labour, the elections showed “the support of the population for a political project whose primary objective is to build a socially just and egalitarian country”. The press release, which was posted on the party’s website, on Monday, was heavily criticized by both the party’s opponents and supporters. By Wednesday he had already been withdrawn.

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