Nicaragua legislature votes next week on barring opposition parties from elections

Nicaragua's government-controlled National Assembly will vote in the first week of August on legislation to bar opposition parties from running in elections, according to BBC reporting. President Daniel Ortega announced the move in a speech on July 20, marking the anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution, saying there "will be no more elections for them to try to seize the government."

Ortega, 80, has governed Nicaragua since 2007 and faces no meaningful electoral challenge after years of detaining, exiling, and stripping opposition figures of citizenship. The formal ban would codify what has already become practice: in the 2021 presidential election, which Ortega won, authorities detained or disqualified any viable opposition candidate, forced dozens into exile, and allowed only a handful of little-known candidates to run.

Gustavo Porras, head of the National Assembly, said the legislative body and the country's highest electoral authority were working to ensure the opposition would not "establish even a crack" as a foothold, according to BBC reporting. In November 2025, when Ortega was four years into his five-year term, the National Assembly passed a constitutional reform extending the presidential term to six years and making Rosario Murillo, Ortega's wife, "co-president." That reform passed unanimously.

The move draws sharp international pushback. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk stated that "people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office," per BBC reporting. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ortega's words lay bare the "true authoritarian nature" of his rule and that Ortega and Murillo had "abandoned even the pretense of popular consent."

Ortega framed the electoral ban as a defense against foreign interference and coup attempts. He said laws would be passed "to create a wall, to block the coup mongers" and that "regardless of how much money they are given by the Yankees," the opposition would not seize power, according to BBC reporting. Gustavo Porras dismissed international criticism in a statement to a government-aligned outlet, reiterating the assembly's intent to prevent opposition footholds.

Exiled opposition figures view the measure as evidence of Ortega's long-term authoritarian ambition. Juan Sebastián Chamorro, an opposition politician in exile, said it proved Ortega wanted to "turn Nicaragua into a one-party country like China, North Korea, and Cuba," according to BBC reporting. Felix Maradiaga, a former opposition presidential candidate who was imprisoned under Ortega, told AFP that the move revealed Ortega's underlying fear: "He hasn't neutralised the opposition; he knows the desire for change is still alive, and is still fighting for the country."

Ortega's consolidation of power follows a 2018 crackdown on anti-government protests during which security forces killed more than 300 people, per BBC reporting.