By AFP and Reuters

Published on 22 July 2026.

Nicaragua has faced growing international criticism for its deteriorating human rights situation under President Ortega's rule.

The United Nations human rights chief has condemned Nicaragua’s escalating crackdown on civil and political rights, days after President Daniel Ortega announced a plan to block elections and shut out the opposition.

On Wednesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated that the recent actions in Nicaragua have intensified constraints on freedoms, diminished civic space, and continue to erode the rule of law.

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Ortega, a former leftist rebel who has led Nicaragua for nearly 20 years with his wife Vice President Rosario Murillo, declared on Sunday that “there won’t be elections,” effectively eliminating any chance of opposition to their leadership.

General elections were due in November, but constitutional reforms passed 18 months ago extended the presidential term from 5 to 6 years, pushing the vote back to 2027.

Turk said power in Nicaragua was increasingly being concentrated “under the co-presidency”, with the ruling Sandinista party already holding full control over parliament, all municipalities and the regional councils on the North and South Caribbean Coast.

He called on the authorities to “reopen civic space, and restore the rule of law”, warning that “independent expression of thought or opinion is systematically suppressed”, urging that “people of all political viewpoints must be allowed to vote and run for office, in line with the State’s international human rights obligations”.

The statement also cited the government’s abrupt revocation of several lawyers’ credentials earlier this month, which it said had no legal justification, and noted that at least 46 people remain arbitrarily detained on political grounds.

Turk further raised concern over the treatment of religious groups, pointing to the unclear whereabouts of Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, 80, who was detained on June 29, and urged Managua to release all those held arbitrarily “with humanity and dignity”.

Following the violent suppression of protests in 2018, which left over 300 dead per UN estimates, Ortega and Murillo have further consolidated control over Nicaragua.

The Sandinista party already holds full control over all branches of government and municipalities, and constitutional reforms have extended presidential terms. The 2018 crackdown marked a turning point, after which Ortega and Murillo moved to silence dissent, including by revoking lawyers' credentials and detaining opponents arbitrarily. With elections now off the table, prospects for political change appear dim, and the fate of detained individuals, such as Bishop Abelardo Mata Guevara, remains a concern.