Spain Critical Of Nicaragua’s Election Results
The Government of Spain said it rejects the results of the election held in Nicaragua because of the unacceptable and arbitrary conditions in which they were held. The Spanish government said it calls for free, fair, transparent and well attended elections that guarantee the participation of all Nicaraguans.
Like other countries in the European Union and a large part of the international community, the Spanish government notes that Sunday’s elections lacked the minimum democratic guarantees required. In these circumstances, the Government refuses to lend credibility and legitimacy to the results that may emerge from this process.
The Spanish Executive said it considers this election to be a mockery and denounces the fact that they do not reflect the genuine will of the Nicaraguan people, who have been deprived by Daniel Ortega of the free and full exercise of their voting rights. It also denounces the absence of the opposition, with its leaders in prison, of international observers and independent press, with the persecution of critical journalists and the vetoing of special envoys of international media.
“The Nicaraguan government has established a repressive and authoritarian regime in the country, protected by a regressive legislative framework and the connivance of the legislative and judicial powers, controlled by Ortega. This has resulted in the systematic persecution of political, social, media and economic actors, to the point of outlawing opposition parties, imprisoning their main leaders and pre-candidates, all of whom are still in prison and deprived of their procedural rights, and the consequent denial of their right to participate in a clearly fraudulent election,” the Spanish government said.
The Government of Spain also demands that the Nicaraguan authorities immediately and unconditionally release all arbitrarily imprisoned political prisoners and demonstrators and annul their judicial proceedings; restore and guarantee the fundamental rights of all citizens; and put an end to the repression and harassment. It also calls on the Nicaraguan state to comply with its international human rights commitments and its own constitutional precepts, and to allow international human rights mechanisms to return to the country.
Likewise, the Government of Spain condemns the closure of critical media and the expulsion of Nicaraguan journalists, as well as international correspondents being denied entry to the country as happened a few days ago with a team from Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) at the border with Costa Rica.
“The Government of Spain, like the Spanish people, remains firmly committed to the people of Nicaragua, as demonstrated by the donation of more than 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX mechanism, and will continue to work with its European Union partners and international allies to ensure that Nicaraguans recover their rights and freedoms and can exercise them in a democracy,” Moncloa said in a statement.