Biden says elections in Nicaragua are ‘not free or fair’; Ballot boxes closed, Ortega to be re-elected | The world

As soon as the ballot is over, the chairman United States, Joe Biden, Raising the tone against the dictatorial regime in Nicaragua, said the vote was a “mockery”: “neither free nor fair, nor nearly democratic.”

“The arbitrary arrests of nearly 40 opponents since May – including seven presidential candidates – and the blocking of political party participation have been dealt with long before election day,” Biden said in a statement.

The United States is putting strong pressure on Nicaragua, especially after Ortega tightened its grip on power in 2018 – when Hundreds died in the repression of the protests Against the state.

Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo – even the president’s wife – should be re-elected without difficulty, Nicaraguan media predictions indicate. The results were not officially confirmed until 22:00 (GMT) this Sunday.

The current president is facing five unknown candidates accused of collaborating with the government Holds seven front-runners In an attack that has imprisoned dozens of politicians, businessmen, farmers, students and journalists since May.

A study by the Cid-Gallup Institute shows that 65% will vote against and 19% against Ortega. But pro-government M&R says 70% will vote for the current president and 11.2% for unknown candidates.

Enemies were imprisoned or deported

Elected Christiana Zamoro, daughter of former President Violeta Barrios (1990-1997) and currently House arrest.

Prisoners have been accused of assaulting sovereignty and promoting sanctions against Nicaragua, “treason for the homeland” or “money laundering,” under government-controlled laws passed by Congress in 2020, based on elections to the judiciary and authorities.

According to Ortega, the more than 150 detainees detained since 2018 are not politicians, but “criminals” and “conspirators” sponsored by Washington.

Remember the video below of the Nicaraguan police raid on the newspaper

More than 100,000 Nicaraguans were deported during the political crisis, mainly in the United States and Costa Rica.

Therefore, the government of Ortega rejected the international oversight of organizations such as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union.

The head of European diplomacy, Joseph Borel, said on Tuesday that the election would not be legal because Ortega had arrested all other candidates.

“Mr. Ortega was concerned about arresting all the political candidates who had nominated themselves in these elections, and we cannot expect the process to reach a conclusion that can be considered legitimate, but on the contrary,” Borel declared.