Nicaraguan election laws amended to restrict opposition participation, could attract US sanctions - New Delhi Times

May 16, 2021
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In preparation for the upcoming November 7, 2021 general elections, Nicaragua’s National Assembly passed amendments to its election law on May 4, 2021 and named a new slate of Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) magistrates. The amendments are unlikely to meet the Organization of American States (OAS) minimum standard for democratic reforms, which requires the implementation of guarantees for free, equal, open, and competitive elections, implying that the US, the European Union, and others will likely introduce additional sanctions this year.
Changes to election laws have been enacted in order to restrict opposition involvement in future elections. On May 5, the Electoral Law (No. 331) was released in Nicaragua’s Official Record (La Gaceta), indicating that it had been signed by the President and was in effect. Any political groups, political alliances, and opposition candidates, including those who have engaged in or sponsored anti-government demonstrations or spoken in favour of foreign interference in domestic affairs, are barred from running in the November elections under the Constitution. It confirms that persons who come under the categories of the Foreign Agents Law (No. 1040) and the Law of Defense of the People’s Right to Independence, Sovereignty, and Self-determination for Peace are excluded (No. 1555). President Daniel Ortega’s ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) has also named loyalists to his government, with at least seven of the ten new CSE magistrates expected to run in the upcoming election. In a tweet on May 5, US Acting Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung stated that this had resulted in a biased CSE, which the regime has denied on its official website, El 19 Digital. The National Coalition and the Citizen Alliance, the two major opposition parties that emerged from the 2018 national demonstrations, are running for office. Both, as well as Nicaragua’s largest industry association, the Superior Council for Private Enterprise, have opposed the electoral reforms (COSEP).

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