The Foreign Affairs Spokesperson of the European Union (EU), Peter Stanopointed out that the recent municipal votes in Nicaragua “they cannot be considered democratic or legitimate”.
Speaking to Dispatch 505the European official stressed that the Nicaraguan elections “have been held again no credible electoral competition”.
With the municipal votes, held on November 6, the pro-government Sandinista Front claimed control of 100% of the 153 municipalities of Nicaragua.
Stano commented that the result of the voting “will only strengthen the sociopolitical crisis in Nicaragua and increase the palpable discontent of its people.”
Official data from the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) –which lack credibility and are not auditable– show that there was a participation of 57.5% of the population. However, the citizen observatory Urnas Abiertas registered an abstention rate of 82.7%. This level of abstention exceeds that observed in the “electoral farce” of 2021, which was 81.5%.
“Commitment to the people”
“The European Union reaffirms its continued commitment to the Nicaraguan peoplewhich is the legitimate owner of the country’s sovereignty, and with the defense of democracy, the rule of law and human rights,” said the senior official.
“Nicaragua’s current political crisis must be resolved peacefully through a genuine dialogue between the government and the opposition, followed by credible elections,” he stressed.
Relations between the European blockade and the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have become tense in recent months, after the dictatorship expelled —at the end of last September— the head of the European delegation in Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidt, and days later announced the rupture of diplomatic relations with the Netherlands. In response, the EU declared on October 10 “non grata” the head of the Nicaraguan mission in Brussels, Zoila Yanira Müller Goff.
In addition, in mid-October, the European Council —an institution in which the governments of the 27 member countries are represented— extended for the third consecutive year the sanctions imposed against senior officials and personalities linked to the regime.
Since 2019, the European bloc has sanctioned 21 senior regime officials, including Vice President and First Lady Murillo and their children Juan Carlos, Camila and Laureano Ortega Murillo.
