Bloc condemns election in Nicaragua as ‘not free’

NEW YORK — The General Assembly of the Organization of American States voted Friday to condemn Nicaragua’s Nov. 7 presidential vote, saying the elections “were not free, fair or transparent, and lack democratic legitimacy.”

Twenty-five countries in the Americas voted in favor of the resolution, while seven — including Mexico — abstained. Only Nicaragua voted against it.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, 75, won more than 75% of the votes in the election, but the outcome was never in doubt after his government jailed seven of the leading potential opposition candidates.

Friday’s resolution instructs the organization’s Permanent Council to draw up a report by Nov. 30 in order to weigh “appropriate actions” to be taken.

U.S. officials previously called the vote “undemocratic,” and the European Union said it “lacked legitimacy.”

The resolution could open the way to more sanctions on Nicaraguan officials, many of whom are already under U.S. sanctions.

Alexa Zamora, a leader of the Nicaraguan opposition group Blue and White Unity, welcomed the resolution.

“The fact that the OAS recognizes the regime as illegitimate gives us a powerful tool to demand the cutoff of outside financing for the dictator,” Zamora said, suggesting that international development loans could be a target of such a cutoff.

Nicaragua’s Organization of American States representative, Michael Rene Campbell, said that “the OAS does not have the authority to become our official vote counter. … The OAS is not the arbiter or auditor of the elections. “

When the regional body voted last month to condemn repression and demand the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, seven members abstained, including Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras, which neighbors Nicaragua.

Much of the same group, including Bolivia, abstained this time. In a switch, Argentina voted in favor of the resolution.

The Ortega administration has continued to close avenues for democratic participation, with police banning public protests, electoral authorities banning some opposition political parties, and potential candidates being arrested.

With all government institutions firmly within Ortega’s grasp and with the opposition exiled, jailed or in hiding, the leader eroded what hope remained that the country could soon return to a democratic path.

U.S. President Joe Biden has called the Nov. 7 vote “rigged” and said the U.S. will use the tools at its disposal to hold the Nicaraguan government accountable.

“The Ortega and Murillo family now rule Nicaragua as autocrats, no different from the Somoza family that Ortega and the Sandinistas fought four decades ago,” Biden said.

Mexico walked a thin line on the resolution, with its Organization of American States representative saying the country had expressed “concerns” to Nicaragua about the election but would not support any measure by the organization condemning the vote.

Luz Elena Banos, Mexico’s representative at the Organization of American States, said Mexico “has expressed our concerns to the government of Nicaragua about the political process carried out on Nov. 7, especially regarding freedom of expression and the right of citizens to participate in politics.”

But Banos said Mexico would not vote for any measure “aimed at intervention, isolating or imposing sanctions” on Nicaragua.