Caribbean & Central America - May 2021

The ruling Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) has unveiled an electoral reform initiative ahead of the 7 November general election in which President Daniel Ortega is running again. The political opposition and foreign community have long called for electoral reform but the FSLN’s proposal (since approved as we went to press), has failed to meet these demands. It comes as the opposition has warned of growing repression by the government ahead of the vote [SSR-21-02] and as the international community continues to signal alarm regarding the situation of human rights and democracy in Nicaragua.

The FSLN presented its electoral reform proposal on 12 April before the national assembly, which it controls. It trumpeted efforts to promote gender equality, highlighting changes designed to strengthen gender representation in electoral institutions and candidates’ lists. However, the initiative has met with widespread rejection from the two main opposition groupings, Alianza Ciudadana (AC) and Coalición Nacional (CN), and civil society, which point to the yawning gap between the FSLN’s proposal and demands for comprehensive electoral reform as outlined by the Organization of American States (OAS) in an October 2020 resolution (see sidebar). A 28 April letter penned by over 90 political and social organisations to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro urged the OAS to demand electoral reforms from the government which would ensure “fair and free” elections.

The opposition maintains the current initiative seeks to further restrict its participation in the election, coming on the heels of new laws which have set off alarm bells [SSR-21-02]. In particular it warns the reform would limit foreign financing for candidates and parties, and fails to guarantee electoral observation by credible international observers. Also stoking concerns is a provision assigning responsibility for the authorisation of permits for campaign marches to the national police (PNN) rather than the supreme electoral court (CSE) as is currently the case. The PNN has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department over its alleged role in “serious human rights abuses” [SSR-20-09] – a reference to the government crackdown on its opponents which began in April 2018.

• International concerns

The widespread rejection of the reform and fears on the part of the opposition that it is merely designed to further limit its participation in the vote come as the Ortega government continues to face pressure from the international community over human rights and democracy. On 23 March the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) approved another resolution which “expresses grave concern at the continuing reports of human rights violations and abuses and the lack of accountability since April 2018”. It has previously approved resolutions on Nicaragua in March 2019 and June 2020.

   In the US, the previous Donald Trump administration (2017-2021) had sanctioned multiple Nicaraguan officials over the alleged human rights abuses. While yet to follow suit, President Joe Biden is also expected to exert pressure with regard to democracy concerns. That developments in Nicaragua are being closely followed in Washington was suggested by new bipartisan legislation introduced on 25 March by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), known as the RENACER ACT, which would “strategically align” the US’s “diplomatic tools, including targeted sanctions, to advance democratic elections in Nicaragua”. A 16 April statement by a bipartisan group of US representatives complained that the latest electoral reform proposal showed “contempt for the modest requests made by the international community”, while on 20 April the US State Department issued a level 4 travel advisory (Do Not Travel) for Nicaragua. Among other things it cited “arbitrary enforcement of laws”, noting that the Ortega government and its affiliated groups have been reported to “systematically target opposition figures (regardless of nationality)”. 

• OAS resolution

The OAS October 2020 resolution was in line with a commitment to electoral reform made by the FSLN in 2017 as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the OAS. The October 2020 resolution was clear that “concrete electoral reform commitments, in particular modernisation and restructuring of the [CSE], be in place before the state convokes general elections, or no later than May 2021”.