A Country Without Elections
Ortega Declares 'Never, Never, Never' Again

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On July 19 (local time), Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega declared that the country will hold no more elections. He made the announcement at a rally in Managua marking the 47th anniversary of the 1979 Sandinista revolution. "There will be no more elections here for them to seize power. Never, never, never," he said—framing elections as an instrument of regime change manipulated by the United States and the old Somoza camp, and using that logic to justify abolishing them. The next presidential election had been scheduled for November 2027; now even that will disappear.

A Monopoly on Power Built Over Twenty Years

Ortega returned to the presidency in 2007. Since then, he has rewritten the constitution, dismantled the opposition, and taken control of the judiciary and the legislature. In the 2021 election, he declared "victory" after jailing virtually every candidate who could have challenged him, and the international community refused to recognize the result as legitimate. A constitutional reform in January 2025 saw the National Assembly extend the presidential term from five to six years, push the election scheduled for November 2026 back to November 2027, and formally install his wife, Rosario Murillo, as "co-president" (copresidenta).

The latest declaration is an extension of that trajectory, but the fact that Ortega said "no more elections" out loud carries real weight. Authoritarian regimes often maintain nominal elections precisely because they serve as a "performance of legitimacy" for audiences at home and abroad. Ortega has thrown away the performance itself. Immediately after the declaration, the National Assembly was reported to have begun the process of writing the abolition of elections into the constitution.

Why the International Community Cannot Act

The U.S. State Department immediately condemned the move, saying Ortega's declaration "laid bare the true authoritarian character of his family dictatorship" (we covered the tightening of U.S. sanctions on Nicaragua in an earlier article). At the Organization of American States (OAS), too, Nicaragua has effectively been absent from any forum for dialogue since 2021.

The problem is that economic sanctions and isolation policies have no real power to shake Ortega's hold on power. Solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela, tight control over the domestic economy, and a civil society already devastated by repression: the regime has built up a certain resistance to external pressure. Even the region's democratic governments, while willing to voice diplomatic condemnation, balk at severing economic ties. The effectiveness of any "solidarity in defense of democracy" is, regrettably, doubtful at present.

What Remains After the Premise of Democracy Collapses

Over the past decade and more, elections in Latin America have been hollowed out in Venezuela and Nicaragua. Yet both countries at least preserved the outward form of a vote. That is the line Ortega has now crossed. Even within the region's broader authoritarian turn, this marks a qualitatively new stage.

The Author's Take

A "nominal election" may look meaningless, but it has in fact imposed real costs on the regime: eliminating rival candidates, staging turnout, turning away observers. All the work of keeping up appearances was itself a symptom of the regime's fragility. Does abandoning it signal the regime's consolidation—or that it can no longer even afford the performance? Readings split in two.

Two indicators are worth watching. First, how far the process of enshrining the abolition of elections in the constitution actually advances. Second, whether economic deterioration opens cracks in the regime's stability. Sustaining this kind of rule requires distributing economic patronage, and if external funds and remittances dry up, the possibility of pressure from within remains.

Glossary

sandinismo = the political current of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which led the 1979 revolution. copresidenta (co-president) = a post created by the 2025 constitutional reform, held by Murillo. OAS (Organization of American States) = the regional organization of the Americas; Nicaragua formally withdrew in 2023.

A dictator who announces the abolition of elections himself has, in effect, admitted he no longer needs the game of legitimacy.

※ This article is the author’s commentary based on public information. Please confirm the latest figures, dates and procedures with governments and primary sources. Quotations are kept minimal and sources are cited.