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Nicaragua’s National Assembly on Monday approved a law prohibiting 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 bans “those who demand, 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 punished with imprisonment for up to 15 years.
The law was passed by 70 votes, with only 15 votes against and four abstained from voting.
Many human rights groups opposed this law. The Organization of American States (OAS) called on the government to repeal the law, saying these acts “would deny the Nicaraguan people the right to freely choose their representatives, turning the 2021 elections into a tax rather than an election.” .
The United States has also sanctioned 27 people close to Ortega, including his wife and three children. On Monday, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against three other people: Nicaraguan Supreme Court Vice President Marvin Ramiro Aguilar Garcia; a deputy of the National Assembly, Walmaro Antonio Gutierrez Mercado; and a head of the Nicaraguan National Police in Leon, Fidel De Jesus Dominguez Alvarez.
Despite the opposition, elections will take place in November 2021 and Ortega is expected to run again.
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