Nicaraguan government declares end of elections and solidifies presidential regime By Luís Henrique Costa
2 min read
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The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, declared on Sunday, July 19, 2026, that the country will no longer hold elections. The measure ends any chance of an electoral dispute at the end of his current term, in 2027, and reinforces the regime he maintains with his wife.
A political leader since 2007, and with a stint as president in the 1980s, Ortega stated that this decision blocks all avenues for the opposition, without, however, detailing how this new policy would be implemented.
During a speech given on the night of Sunday, July 19, in celebration of the 1979 Sandinista revolution – in which he played a fundamental role in the fall of Anastasio Somoza’s dictatorship –, Ortega declared: “There will be no more elections here for them to try to take the government and power.”
In his first public appearance after two months of absence, the president added that “The days when parties supported by the Yankees and the Somozites would return to power are over — never again.”
The country’s previous election, held in 2021, generated great controversy due to the actions of Ortega, who ordered the arrest of opponents and business figures, in addition to making political dissent illegal.
Recently, Ortega’s power has been further strengthened through a series of constitutional reforms. These changes designated his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-president” and extended the presidential term to six years. The couple currently has substantial control over the Armed Forces and the Judiciary, among other government spheres.
The regime led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has been formally accused by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council of converting the nation into “an authoritarian state” and of committing continuous violations of human rights.
Nicaragua has been facing a deep political crisis since April 2018. During that period, protests against the government were brutally repressed, resulting in the deaths of more than 300 people on Ortega’s orders.
