The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, estimated Tuesday, November 2 that the presidential election of November 7 in Nicaragua would not be legitimate. He points to the fact that President Daniel Ortega, who is running for a fourth consecutive term, jailed “All his adversaries”.
“We cannot expect from this process a result that we could consider as legitimate, on the contrary”, Borrell said from Lima, the first stop on a tour of Latin America.
“The situation in Nicaragua is one of the most serious at the moment on the American continent”, he added in front of the representatives of the foreign press, estimating that the ballot aimed only at “Keeping the dictator in power” Ortega.
Seven potential candidates behind bars
About 40 opponents of President Daniel Ortega, in power since 2007, have been arrested over the past five months, including seven potential presidential candidates.
To put out any rivals, Daniel Ortega, 75, relied on laws adopted at the end of 2020, which silenced the opposition.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) recently ruled that the situation of repression against the opposition did not allow “An honest and free electoral process”.
Borrell, who is due to meet with Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on Tuesday, also said that “Unite efforts to find a political solution to the situation in Venezuela”.
Despite everything, he sees hope thanks to the regional and municipal elections of November 21 “To which the whole of the opposition will present themselves, which was not the case during the previous legislative elections” December 2020, he said.
An electoral mission of the European Union, the first in fifteen years, will visit Venezuela for this election. The head of European diplomacy will be in Brazil on Wednesday.