U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement this week blasting Nicaragua’s handling of its latest “undemocratic election,” stating President Daniel Ortega’s victory denied citizens their right to vote.
Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo declared themselves as winners Sunday, after Ortega reportedly jailied political rivals ahead of the vote.
"The Ortega-Murillo government has deprived Nicaraguans of any real choice by dissolving all genuine opposition parties and imprisoning all the principal presidential candidates," Blinken said in the release.
According to the release, while the U.S. no longer considers the current Nicaraguan government to be a democratic body, the State Department plans to continue to recognize the nation as a member of the global community committed to democratic principles.
"The Nicaraguan people deserve to enjoy the freedoms and rights that are respected in a democracy," Blinken said.
Though Ortega and Murillo continue to insist they are “defending national sovereignty” in their actions, Blinken said only governments that conduct free and fair elections can claim to represent the will of the people.
The U.S. is joined by several other democracies in blasting Nicaragua's abuse of democratic norms, the release states. They pledge to promote accountability for those who supported the Ortega-Murillo government’s undemocratic acts and work with the Organization of American States' General Assembly to press for a return to democracy through free and fair elections.
