Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega announced that the country will no longer hold elections, effectively eliminating any future electoral opportunities for opposition groups to challenge his government, which he leads alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo. Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has held power since 2007 and previously governed during the 1980s. His current term, extended to 2027 through constitutional reforms, positions him and Murillo to maintain control over nearly all branches of government, including the judiciary, military, and electoral institutions.
In a speech marking the 1979 Sandinista revolution—under which Ortega overthrew the U.S.-backed Somoza dictatorship—Ortega declared, “There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power.” He further stated that political forces “backed by the Yankees” and the Somoza regime would no longer regain influence, asserting, “Never again.”
The announcement solidifies Ortega and Murillo’s consolidation of power following constitutional changes approved in 2025 that shifted authority from independent institutions to the presidency. The U.S. State Department has labeled the Ortega-Murillo regime as authoritarian, imposing visa restrictions on over 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their families, and previously sanctioned Ortega for allegedly rigging the 2021 election. Authorities detained presidential candidates, journalists, and opposition leaders ahead of that vote, while opposition parties and civil society groups were dissolved.
Human rights organizations and the United Nations have documented systematic violations under Ortega’s rule, including the 2018 crackdown on protests that resulted in over 300 deaths. Nicaragua’s political landscape has since been stripped of meaningful dissent, with exiled or imprisoned opposition leaders unable to contest Ortega’s hold on power.
