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Nicaragua’s National Assembly approved a law on Monday that will prohibit opposition politicians from participating in the November 2021 elections.
The “Law for the Defense of the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty and Self-Determination for Peace” was sponsored by President Daniel Ortega and excludes “those who ask, celebrate and applaud the imposition of sanctions against the Nicaraguan state”. It gives the government the power to unilaterally declare citizens “terrorists” or “traitors to the homeland” and prohibit them from running as political candidates. Treason can be punishable by imprisonment for up to 15 years.
The law was approved by 70 votes, with only 15 against and four abstained from voting.
Numerous human rights groups have opposed this law. The Organization of American States (OAS) called on the government to repeal the law, stating that those acts “would deny the Nicaraguan people the right to freely choose their representatives, transforming the 2021 elections into an imposition rather than an election.”
The United States has also sanctioned 27 people close to Ortega, including his wife and three children. On Monday, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against three more people: the vice president of the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua, Marvin Ramiro Aguilar García; a deputy of the National Assembly, Walmaro Antonio Gutiérrez Mercado; and a Chief of the Nicaraguan National Police in León, Fidel De Jesus Dominguez Alvarez.
Despite the opposition, elections will be held in November 2021 and Ortega is expected to run again.
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