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Daniel Ortega wins controversial presidential election in Nicaragua
In the controversial presidential election in Nicaragua, incumbent Daniel Ortega is heading for a clear victory and thus a fourth term in a row. After counting around half of the votes, the former Marxist rebel leader came to around 75 percent, as the election commission announced on Monday. The US government condemned the election on Sunday, citing the crackdown on the opposition, as neither free nor fair and threatened new sanctions. Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo had “staged a sham election,” said US President Joe Biden. He called on Ortega to restore democracy in the Central American country and release imprisoned opposition leaders. Otherwise the US would use all “diplomatic and economic means” to hold the Ortega government accountable. Ortega has been ruling with a hard hand for years. Numerous opposition and rivals Ortega had been arrested in the months leading up to the election. Only five little-known candidates from smaller parties allied with Ortega’s Sandinista were allowed to vote. International election observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States were not allowed.
The US government described Sunday’s election as neither free nor fair.