The state of democracy and civic freedoms continues to deteriorate in Nicaragua in the aftermath of the presidential elections held in November 2021. With opposition candidates being harassed and jailed and political parties being dissolved well before, the Sandinista regime ensured that there was nothing free and fair about the elections, which were largely boycotted by the Nicaraguans who refused to take part in the electoral farce.
Ahead of the elections, the Liberal International (LI) Bureau expressed alarm at the escalation in authoritarian actions by Daniel Ortega’s government, in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council. LI and RELIAL also issued a joint statement in August when our Nicaraguan member party Ciudadanos por la Libertad was dissolved and its leader, LI Vice President Kitty Monterreywas stripped of her Nicaraguan citizenship.
Kitty Monterrey is currently living in exile, where she continues fighting for a democratic transition in Nicaragua. In a newly released mini-documentary by the news agency 100 Noticias Nicaragua, together with experts and civil society activists, she explains how Daniel Ortega, step by step, eliminated all democratic elements of the elections, by imposing a series of legislative reforms effectively criminalising any dissent.
As a response to these measures, the opposition joined forces to collectively challenge Ortega, by creating the opposition alliance, Alianza Ciudadana.
“When Ortega realised what we were doing, he started the crackdown, jailing the opposition candidates one by one, starting with Cristiana, later Arturo, afterwards Felix and Juán Sebastian, one by one, until all of them were accused of betrayal to the homeland.” – Kitty Monterrey
The elections were hoped to become an opportunity for a transition to democracy through peaceful, constitutional means. Instead, they became a pantomime election where the winner had been decided well in advance. While the Nicaraguan opposition and civil society now continue their fight for democracy and freedom in their home country, they call on the international community to provide support for local pro-democracy movements, and to loudly demand a transition to democratic rule.
