Daniel Ortega’s opponents call for people to stay at home in Nicaragua and demonstrate in the rest of the world against the regime’s electoral farce

The Nicaraguans who oppose the regime of Daniel Ortega will show this Sunday their rejection of what they call ‘election farce’ In two different ways: Those in Nicaragua will not go to the polls under the opposition’s “stay at home” call, and the exiles will move simultaneously in different cities of the world.

For this Sunday, 4.5 million Nicaraguans were invited to vote in a general election whose legality has been called into question, then Daniel Ortega’s regime excluded the opposition from the race by banning three parties and imprisoning seven potential opposition candidates.

This Thursday, the various opposition organizations jointly called for Don’t go out to vote and go into exile. “We make a patriotic appeal to the citizens of Nicaragua to take up the April Cry and the historic aspirations for freedom and democracy of our people and, on November 7, empty the streets with the same courage and determination we filled in 2018 to stay at home this time and not vote as a sign of renouncing the dictatorship,” the statement said. “.

Opponents are called “Disavowing the electoral farce and ignorance of it,” which they consider “a clearly illegitimate and invalid process that deprives the people of Nicaragua of the right to freely choose their leaders.”

Olama Hurtado, of the National Unity Blue and White (UNAB) opposition, confirmed that the call to abstain from the united opposition was well received by the citizens of Nicaragua. “There is a lot of consensus on staying and staying at home so that the charade is not legitimized,” he says.

Cid Gallup’s latest survey confirms this 78 percent of those surveyed believe that Daniel Ortega’s re-election on November 7 will lack legitimacy and will receive little or no international recognition.. But the same survey asserts that 55 percent of Nicaraguans have “a significant or certain interest in voting despite the situation”.

Hurtado says the data from that poll was collected in September when the opposition was still debating whether the protest would emerge through invalid voting or abstention. campaign The “Stay Home” campaign started in October. “This percentage is also due to the idea that Nicaraguans have to get out of this crisis through civil and democratic means, and in this way are elections,” he says.

Daniel Ortega’s regime is doing its job to counter the opposition’s crackdown. to me According to Olama Hurtado, complaints by state employees about pressure to vote add to threats against other groups.. “We have learned of threats in the paramilitaries and the CPC (Sandinian sympathizers) to retirees and business owners telling them that if they don’t go vote they will take their pension or their licenses.”

In Costa Rica, Ana Quiros is organizing a Nicaraguan rally that will leave on Sunday at 9 a.m. from La Merced Park, in San Jose, toward Plaza de la Democracia e la Apolición del Ijercito. The colon is of particular importance. “La Merced Park is where Nicaraguans traditionally meet and the square is named after two very heartfelt aspirations of the Nicaraguan people,” Quiros says.

On the same day there will be rallies for Nicaraguans in different countries of America and Europe: New York, New Jersey, Boston, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Bilbao, London, Cordoba, Brussels, Stockholm, Geneva, Mexico City, San Jose, Panama City, and San Salvador, Among other cities.

Quiros represents UNAB on the march organizing committee in Costa Rica. He stressed that all opponents are united on this occasion, despite the differences. Other times we were very sectarian. We all have this bad. On this occasion, we issued a resolution for a truce and said that we will put aside our differences and difficulties, and we will walk together on Sunday.

“There is a lot of courage, a lot of desire to show Nicaragua and the international community, first, that we are together, and second, that we stand,” says the opposition in exile in Costa Rica.

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