[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. President Joe Biden harshly criticized the presidential election held in Nicaragua, calling it an unfair and undemocratic "pantomime election."
On the 7th (local time), the White House issued a statement saying, "President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Murillo conducted a pantomime election that was neither free, fair, nor democratic," and criticized, "This couple is no different from the Anastasio Somoza family that Ortega fought against 40 years ago."
It continued, "Since May, the Ortega regime has detained 40 opposition figures, including seven leading presidential candidates, and blocked party participation, manipulating the election results," urging, "Immediate action must be taken to restore democracy, and the detained opposition figures should be released immediately."
Major foreign media reported that Ortega's fourth term as president is likely to succeed in this election. Voting took place over 11 hours at 13,000 polling stations across Nicaragua, but the vote count has not yet been disclosed.
Foreign media conveyed that the outcome of this election, which was effectively a solo performance by President Ortega, is obvious. They assessed that the key issue is not the election result but how strongly the United States will respond.
The U.S. is already preparing to strengthen sanctions against Nicaragua. Earlier, on the 3rd, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed additional sanctions against the Nicaraguan dictatorship, proposed by Senator Bob Menendez, with 387 votes in favor and 35 against.
This bill, which had previously passed the Senate, will take effect after President Biden signs it. The bill includes sanctions on Ortega regime officials for corruption and human rights abuses, as well as provisions for supplying military goods to U.S. forces stationed in Nicaragua.
Meanwhile, there are also forecasts that if the Ortega dictatorship succeeds in regaining power, it will deal a blow to President Biden's pro-immigration policies.
The New York Times (NYT) stated that Ortega's success in securing a fourth term and continuing an era of repression and terror proves that Biden has failed to slow down anti-democratic movements, making it more difficult to block immigration from Latin America to the U.S.
Ortega first came to power in 1984 after overthrowing the pro-American Anastasio Somoza dictatorship in 1979. After losing re-election in 1990, he has been in long-term power since 2007. He also played a de facto head of state role until 1985 immediately following the 1979 Sandinista revolution that toppled the pro-American Somoza dictatorship.
After returning to power in 2007, Ortega prepared for long-term rule early by removing presidential term limits through constitutional amendments. On this day, appearing on state-run television, President Ortega described this election, in which the "vast majority of the Nicaraguan people" participated, as a "victory against terror."
However, the Associated Press (AP) reported that contrary to Ortega's claim of high voter turnout, there were not long lines at polling stations.
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