Could a new law in Nicaragua affect free elections?
3:47
(CNN Spanish) -
The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, said this Monday that some mechanism for national agreement and dialogue can be convened but until after the general elections scheduled for November 7 of this year.
«Now it is a question of working so that after this year's elections, general elections, a great national agreement can be installed, a great national dialogue, for what?
So that what was approved in the Constitution can move again, taking into account the new circumstances, "said Ortega in a message to the nation this Monday from the historic center of Managua, where he did not refer in particular to any electoral reform.
The General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved on October 21 a resolution that grants a deadline until May 2021 for the approval of electoral reforms that guarantee a participatory and observed process.
This request is endorsed by the United States and the European Union, and was rejected by the Nicaraguan government.
Nicaraguan National Assembly passes law that, according to opponents, inhibits them for the 2021 elections
Could a new law in Nicaragua affect free elections?
3:47
During his appearance, Ortega criticized the US electoral system, which he pointed to as the cause of political polarization in that country, after the presidential elections of November 2020.
Ortega reiterated that so-called "hate crimes" should be punished with life imprisonment, endorsing the call made by the reelected president of the National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, to approve in the second legislature the reform of a constitutional article for that purpose.
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The initiative was generally approved in the National Assembly last November and, according to liberal deputies, it does not explain what a "hate crime" is, leaving the possibility of applying it to opposition protesters.
"Hate crimes, those brutal crimes where a person is grabbed, tortured, stripped, beaten, made to run and then put on fuel and set on fire, that cannot be repeated in this country, these are hate crimes, in a European country or in the United States, the full weight of the law falls on them, ”justified Ortega.
Deadpoint?
The Nicaraguan government does not release political prisoners and does not open to dialogue
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Although at various times he referred to the sanctions imposed by the United States on his government officials and some of his relatives as attacks, he also addressed, in a conciliatory tone, a few words to the president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden, who will take office. next January 20.
«And that we call on the US rulers, in this particular case President (Joe) Biden, that the United States can work towards our region, towards Latin America and the Caribbean, towards Nicaragua with a policy of respect and understanding »Expressed Ortega.
During the speech, Ortega defended the management of the covid-19 pandemic by his government but did not speak of a national vaccination plan against the disease, to which the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has referred and they have asked more than 30 independent medical associations in the country.
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