Ortega says Nicaragua will not hold elections soon, deepening political crackdown

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has said there will be no more elections soon, in remarks that effectively cancel the country's next scheduled vote. He made the statement during a speech marking the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Managua, where he also attacked the United States and rejected the return of opposition parties to power. The comments go further than earlier reporting that he would no longer hold elections, because they now point directly to the removal of the next ballot from the political timetable.

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The next presidential election had been scheduled for November 2027, according to the supplied material. Ortega said: "There won't be anymore elections," adding: "Never, never, never," in reference to future votes. The announcement comes after a January 2025 move by the government-controlled congress to extend the five-year presidential term by one year.

Ortega, who returned to the presidency in 2007, has also rewritten the constitution and consolidated control over state institutions. The statement is significant because elections have remained one of the few formal mechanisms through which Ortega's government could still claim political legitimacy. Since the 2018 protests and the subsequent crackdown, hundreds were reported killed and opposition figures were detained, while the 2021 election was widely viewed as illegitimate after leading challengers were jailed.

Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, has also been central to the governing structure, and the pair have continued to tighten their grip on public life and political competition. The latest remarks also matter because they come at a moment when Nicaragua's political system has already been reshaped by repeated legal and institutional changes. The Sandinista Revolution, which brought Ortega to power in 1979 after the fall of the Somoza dictatorship, remains a key reference point in his political messaging.

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But the current situation is very different from the revolutionary period he invokes, with critics saying the government has used state power to close off opposition activity and reduce the role of elections to a formality. The move is likely to intensify international concern over democratic backsliding in Nicaragua, where the authorities have already been accused of crushing dissent, jailing opponents and restricting independent political activity. It also raises questions about the role of the National Assembly, electoral authorities and other institutions if the government seeks to formalise the end of elections through law or decree.

For opponents, the announcement removes what had been one of the last remaining hopes of a return to competitive politics. What remains unclear is whether the government will now take any formal legal step to cancel the 2027 vote, or whether the statement is intended as a political declaration to supporters. It is also not clear how the National Assembly or electoral bodies will respond, or whether further restrictions on parties and public campaigning will follow.

The next developments to watch are any new legislation, any change to the electoral calendar, and any reaction from opposition groups and international bodies.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has said the country will not hold any more elections, in a move that further narrows the political space available to his opponents. He made the remarks during a speech on Sunday at an official event marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution. Ortega said the government would work with the National Assembly and other institutions to pass laws that would, in his words, "build a wall" against the opposition.

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The 80-year-old leader, who has been in office since 2007, said there would be no more elections so that opposition parties could not seize power. He also described opponents as "coup plotters" and "traitors", while giving no detail on whether the next scheduled vote would be formally cancelled or whether opposition participation would simply be blocked in practice. The announcement came after he had not appeared in public for 61 days, according to the supplied report.

The comments are significant because elections have remained one of the few formal mechanisms through which Ortega's government could still claim political legitimacy, even as critics said the process had become increasingly closed. The last election, in 2021, was widely disputed after the government cracked down on dissent and detained opposition figures. The supplied report also notes that in 2024 the presidential term was extended to six years and Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, was named co-president.

The move comes against a wider backdrop of democratic backsliding in Nicaragua, where the authorities have already outlawed parties and jailed all opposition presidential hopefuls during the 2021 campaign. The report says thousands of state employees attended the anniversary event, with local media describing attendance as coerced. That detail adds to concerns about the extent of state control surrounding major political ceremonies and public messaging.

Ortega's political trajectory is rooted in the Sandinista movement that helped overthrow Anastasio Somoza in 1979, before he later returned to the presidency in 2007. Since then, his rule has become increasingly associated with the concentration of power around himself and Murillo, who is now described as co-president. The supplied material also cites an analyst who said the announcement amounts to a significant rhetorical escalation and suggests the leadership is seeking to close off even the possibility of a limited political opening.

What remains unclear is how, or whether, the government will formalise the end of elections through legislation or administrative action. It is also not clear what response, if any, will come from the National Assembly, electoral authorities or opposition groups. The next developments to watch are whether new laws are introduced, whether the 2026 election timetable is altered, and whether the announcement is followed by further restrictions on political activity.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega has said the country will no longer hold elections, in a move that appears to shut down any remaining formal route for the opposition to challenge his rule. He made the remarks during a speech on Sunday at an event marking the 1979 Sandinista revolution. Ortega said parties backed by the United States and supporters of the Somoza era would never return to power.

The 80-year-old leader, who has been in power since 2007, framed the decision as a rejection of what he described as foreign-backed political interference. He told supporters that there would be no more elections for opponents to use to seize government power. The comments were reported after a speech in which he repeated long-standing accusations that the opposition is controlled by Washington.

The announcement comes after years of mounting repression in Nicaragua. The last election, held in 2021, was widely disputed after the government cracked down on dissent and detained opponents. Last year, the presidential term was extended to six years and Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo, was named co-president.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has said the couple built a repressive system, citing arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions and the persecution of civil society and the media. The move is significant because elections have remained one of the few formal mechanisms through which Ortega's government could claim political legitimacy, even as critics said the process had become increasingly closed. Ortega has been accused of crushing dissent to stay in power, and the latest remarks suggest a further hardening of that position.

They also deepen concerns about the future of political competition in a country where opposition parties and independent voices have already faced severe restrictions. Ortega's rule has been shaped by Nicaragua's long political conflict and by his own return to office after earlier serving as president from 1985 to 1990. He first rose to prominence as a Sandinista revolutionary after the overthrow of the United States-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979.

Since then, he has detained many former Sandinista comrades, underscoring the extent to which the movement that brought him to power has been transformed under his leadership. What remains unclear is how the government would formalise the end of elections, or whether the remarks signal an immediate legal change or a political declaration aimed at supporters. It is also not clear what, if any, institutional response will follow from Nicaragua's electoral authorities or legislature.

For now, the comments point to a further narrowing of political space in a country already marked by arrests, exile and international criticism.

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