President Daniel Ortega declared on 19 July that Nicaragua will hold no further elections, a move that the National Assembly, controlled by his Sandinista Front, confirmed on 21 July it has begun translating into law. The legislature announced it would work with the Supreme Electoral Council to craft reforms that, in Ortega’s words, will “build a wall” against opposition groups he accuses of serving US interests. The announcement eliminates the prospect of a presidential ballot in 2027 and formalises what regional bodies and exiled opponents describe as a one-party, family-run state.

The United States responded with its sharpest condemnation since the 2021 elections. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the decision “lays bare their true authoritarian nature” and called on the international community to demonstrate that the Murillo-Ortega government “cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations.” The Organisation of American States’ secretary-general, Albert Ramdin, stated that Nicaragua “has abandoned democracy, even the pretense of it,” while Costa Rica recalled its ambassador from Managua for consultations. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights judged the announcement incompatible with representative democracy.

Opposition figures in exile interpreted the declaration as a sign of vulnerability rather than strength. Félix Maradiaga, a former presidential candidate imprisoned before being deported to the US, described it as “a confession of fear” that any political opening could threaten the couple’s grip on power. Analysts in Washington and European capitals note that the move accelerates Nicaragua’s trajectory toward a system modelled on Cuba or China, where a single party monopolises the state and electoral competition is eliminated. The government has already stripped hundreds of critics of their citizenship, shuttered thousands of NGOs and media outlets, and imprisoned or exiled virtually all viable challengers.

Ortega, 80, has governed since 2007 alongside his wife, Rosario Murillo, who was elevated to co-president through constitutional reforms in early 2025. Those reforms also extended the presidential term to six years and defined Nicaragua as a “revolutionary” and “socialist” state. The last election, in 2021, was widely rejected as illegitimate after seven presidential hopefuls were jailed. Washington maintains sanctions on more than 2,350 officials and their relatives, but has so far stopped short of the comprehensive economic pressure applied to Cuba. The Nicaraguan legislature’s announcement signals that the legal architecture for a post-electoral order is now under construction, while the US and regional allies weigh whether to escalate diplomatic and economic measures.