QCOSTARICA – Sunday night, well after the polls closed in Nicaragua and yet not ‘obvious’ winner announced at the first preliminary report of that country’s elections tribunal, the Government of Costa Rica announced that it does not recognize the elections, considering that the process was not credible, independent or fair.
“In the absence of conditions and guarantees required in democracy to accredit the elections as transparent, credible, independent, free, fair and inclusive, Costa Rica does not recognize the electoral process in Nicaragua carried out on November 7, 2021,” reported the Foreign Ministry in a statement at 8:30m pm Sunday.
The Government of Carlos Alvarado declared that the actions deployed by the Daniel Ortega regime against opposition leaders and the media “contravened the free exercise of democracy, the guarantee of political pluralism and freedom of expression.”
“Costa Rica reiterates its demand to the Nicaraguan government to proceed with the immediate release and restitution of the full rights of all political prisoners,” Costa Rica demanded in its statement.
President Alvarado replied to the pronouncement on his personal Twitter account, in a message in which he also urged the international community “to promote dialogue to recover democracy in Nicaragua.”
Por su carencia de condiciones y garantías democráticas, no reconocemos las elecciones en Nicaragua. Hacemos un llamado al gobierno para que libere y restituya los derechos de los presos políticos, así como a comunidad 🌍 a propiciar el diálogo para recuperar la democracia en 🇳🇮. pic.twitter.com/UxxQD8qOo5
— Carlos Alvarado Quesada (@CarlosAlvQ) November 8, 2021
Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Ortega that, as a member country of the Central American Integration System (SICA), Nicaragua is obliged to strengthen democracy based on the existence of a government elected “by universal, free and secret suffrage.” as well as to respect human rights without restrictions”.
Unlike the past three elections, at 1:30 am this Monday, Nicaragua’s Consejo Supremo Electoral (CSE) – Supreme Electoral Council – had not yet announced the designation of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as president and vice president for five more years.
Still, the winner is never in doubt.
The opposition called not to vote, the level of participation of the 4.4 million voters called to also elect 90 legislators of Congress that, like all the powers of the State, is under the control of the Executive, or better put, Daniel Ortega.
Read more: Questioned elections in Nicaragua marked by abstention
In the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly, on Sunday afternoon, representatives of all the factions also repudiated Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, for “consecrating their dictatorship” in the neighboring country.
Costa Rica’s position on the elections in Nicaragua has been made public since June of this year, as the country protested against the persecution of opposition leaders who sought to remove Ortega from power in these elections.
The Sandinismo crusade against these figures was evidenced in June, when the opposition leader and presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro was detained by the Nicaraguan police. Since, she is one of at least 143 people, people who could endanger Ortega’s reelection and either in jail or under house arrest.
During this time, Costa Rica’s Foreign Minister Rodolfo Solano has advocated that the international community exert “all the necessary political pressure, as well as generate spaces for dialogue to reach solutions.”
In typical fashion, the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry sent a letter full of complaints, insults and even mockery towards the Costa Rican State, for the criticism that was made from the country towards the threats to the individual and democratic freedoms of Nicaraguans.
The objective was to release political prisoners in the shortest time possible and to restore public freedoms; as well as free and transparent elections with international observation. However, none of that happened. For example, for election day, the Sandinista regime only accepted international observers aligned with the regime’s policies. The international media were not welcomed.
