The IACHR also condemned the arrest of the seventh opposition presidential candidate in Nicaragua and demanded that Ortega release political prisoners

“The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemns the arrests of Noel Vidaurre, the seventh presidential candidate, and Jaime Arellanoe, a political commentator. In addition, it reiterates its urgent appeal to the State of Nicaragua to immediately release those arbitrarily detained and restore guarantees for the full enjoyment of civil and political rights, in particular, of those who aspire to positions of office. public election.“the agency said on its Twitter account.

Nicaraguan presidential candidate Noel Vidaurre was placed this Saturday under house arrest, bringing a total of seven leaders arrested who aspire to the first magistracy.

Three months before the elections, besides Vidaurre, the other candidates arrested are: Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Félix Maradiaga, Miguel Moral, Juan Sebastián Chamorro – cousin of Cristiana – and Medardo Mairena.

Commentator Jaime Arellano has also been placed under house arrest. Both were left “in custody” at their homes, accused of “undermining independence, sovereignty, self-determination and inciting foreign intervention,” according to a police statement.

Vidaurre, 66, was in the running for the candidacy of the Alianza Ciudadanos por la Libertad (CXL-right), one of the groups accredited to the electoral tribunal for the November 7 legislative elections.

Presidential appointments must be registered between July 28 and August 2, and in Nicaragua, if a person is under investigation for crimes or arrest, they cannot run for elected office.

Although Daniel Ortega has not officially announced that he will seek re-election, his collaborators assume that he will be a candidate for the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN-left). The 75-year-old former guerrilla ruled between 1979 and 1990, returned to power in 2007 and managed to win twice in a row amid allegations of opposition fraud. His wife, Rosario Murillo, is the vice-president.

Faced with sanctions and criticism from the international community, Ortega asserts that the detainees are not candidates or opponents but “criminals” who have organized themselves with American funding to carry out a coup d’état. However, the arrests fall under a controversial law passed without debate in Congress.

Head of US diplomacy for Latin America Julie Chung wrote on Twitter: “On the day Nicaraguan voters confirm their registration (on the list), Ortega and Murillo arrest two other political opponents.”

“Presidential candidate Noel Vidaurre and journalist Jaime Arellano are just the latest victims of a vile campaign to criminalize the peaceful opposition“He added.

The electoral process continues

The stages of the electoral process, administered by judges mainly from the FSLN, take place according to schedule and regardless of the wave of arrests of opponents.

This weekend, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) called on the population to go to the polling centers to confirm whether their names are on the lists in order to know where to vote on polling day.

The CXL group denounced that in the provisional register given by the CSE to political parties there is a reduction of more than 750,000 citizens, compared to the one used in the last elections in 2016. that there is no code that identifies them, “CXL said after asking the court to explain” urgently “how nearly 800,000 voters have disappeared in four years.

“I do not trust the Electoral Council, but I see that it is a necessity (…) we need good leadership in this country, a government that is true, a government that is not a lie”Mario López said, standing in line.

“The most important thing here is that we update the electoral list, the person who means that it is not like that, is wrong,” said Jennifer Hernández, in a neighborhood west of Managua.

The audit, which went off without incident, has the backing of opposition parties with parliamentary representation, which groups without lawmakers accuse of collaborating with the government.

Among the sectors without parliamentary representation, some ask the population to comply with the audit to prepare for any scenario, while others reject it, considering that it endorses a process they describe as flawed.

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