The head of EU foreign policy Jose Porrell called Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega a “dictator” on Tuesday (November 2) and held “fake” elections over the weekend. His seven main challengers were catch.
Ortega, 75, will seek a fourth consecutive term in Sunday’s ballot. There have been about 40 opposition figures since June, including seven presidential candidates.
“Mr. Ortega has been imprisoning all political competitors who participated in these elections, and we cannot expect this process to produce results that we consider legitimate. On the contrary,” Borrell said during a visit to Lima, Peru-this is Latin. The first stop of a trip to the Americas.
thanks @MaurtuaDe Receiving me so warmly in Lima.
We exchanged views on bilateral relations, economy and trade, climate change, the epidemic, and social agendas.
We need to consolidate and deepen the relationship between the EU and Peru. pic.twitter.com/kcHTARNntl
-Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 1, 2021
“The situation in Nicaragua is currently one of the most serious in the Americas,” Borrell told foreign reporters.
He said that what he called a “false” election process was just to “keep the dictator (Ortega) in power.”
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also made similar criticisms last week, saying that the situation in Nicaragua does not allow for “free, fair, transparent and pluralistic elections.”
Since June, the Ortega government has been rounding up opponents on charges of treason or money laundering. Critics say these charges are fabricated and aimed to exclude them.
They include 67-year-old Christina Chamorro, who is widely regarded as a popular candidate to defeat Ortega, but now faces charges of money laundering and running away.
Last month, Borrell called Nicaragua “one of the worst dictatorships in the world,” while US Secretary of State Anthony Brinken accused the regime of taking “undemocratic authoritarian actions.”
Nicaragua is sanctioned by the United States and Europe.
Before meeting with Peruvian President Pedro Castillo, Borrell also proposed to “join forces to find a political solution to the situation in Venezuela.” After President Nicolas Maduro’s controversial re-election in 2018, he also received international attention. Sanctions.
EU diplomats said that only through the credible results of the regional and municipal elections scheduled for November 21 will it be possible to find a solution, and that the opposition party will participate in the election for the first time in a few years.
The EU will send observers to participate in the elections for the first time in 15 years.
Borel will travel to Brazil on Wednesday.
