Nicaragua continues to weaken political freedoms, UN warns

Mr. Ortega said on Sunday that the country would no longer hold elections, which were scheduled for next year. In his statement, the High Commissioner did not directly address the threat of cancelling the national poll, but broadly deplored Mr. Ortega’s restrictions on political freedoms.

The co-president’s announcement builds on a series of troubling developments in Nicaragua, where the Government recently revoked lawyers’ credentials with no explanation and currently is detaining 46 individuals arbitrarily for political reasons, according to the UN’s human rights office (OHCHR).

“These latest developments further deepen the severe restrictions on fundamental freedoms, the dismantling of civic space, and the steady erosion of the rule of law,” Mr. Türk said.

The human rights chief maintained that political dissidents must be released and that they must be allowed to participate in the political process, in line with Nicaragua’s international human rights obligations.

Ongoing repression in Nicaragua

Despite the new threats, political restrictions are nothing new in the Central American country.

Mr. Ortega served as president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990, then returned to power in 2007, where he has remained ever since, sharing the presidency with his wife Rosario Murillo since February 2025.

His socialist party, the Sandinista National Liberation Front – which began as a guerilla group in the early 1960s – controls parliament, all municipal governments and the North and South Caribbean Coast Regional Councils.

Under Mr. Ortega, the Government has repeatedly granted mining rights without consent from Indigenous Peoples, and there is no freedom of expression, OHCHR underscored.

Last year, Mr. Ortega extended his presidential term by one year, removed key checks and balances, and promoted his wife to the position of co-president – moves UN independent experts mandated by the Human Rights Council also condemned.

In 2018, Nicaraguan authorities participated in a bloody crackdown against mass national protests that left more than 300 people dead.

A 2025 OHCHR report documented the dismantling of civil society, restrictive electoral eligibility rules, widespread gender-based violence, serious abuses against detainees and a sweeping constitutional overhaul which included removing prohibitions on torture.

Guterres voices concern

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday that Secretary-General António Guterres is “concerned about the continued erosion of civic and political space in that country.”

Mr. Türk stressed that Nicaragua must treat prisoners with humanity and dignity, reopen civic space, restore the rule of law and broadly cease its repression of political dissidents, in compliance with international human rights law.

He also expressed concern about reports of Government repression against the Catholic Church and other religious groups and requested information about the whereabouts of recently detained 80-year-old Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara.

“People of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office,” Mr. Türk underscored.