The owner of the National Assembly of Nicaragua (Parliament), the Sandinista Gustavo Porrassaid this Wednesday that yes elections will be held in Nicaragua but under a new constitutional framework that shield them from foreign interference and of the “traitors to the country” in the country.
Porras expressed himself like this after the Parliament announced on Tuesday a work plan to reform the Constitution and other laws after the Nicaraguan co-president, Daniel Ortega, stated on Sunday at a rally that “here (in Nicaragua) there will be no elections again so that they can try there (opposition) catch the governmentcapture the power.”
The head of Parliament qualified the statements of Ortega and said that what the president meant was that in Nicaragua “there will never again be elections in the hands of the imperialists to try to overwhelm and to impose the power of the imperialists over the town“.
The sayings of Ortega They generated rejection from neighboring countries, such as Costa Rica, Panama – which called its ambassador for consultations – and Guatemala, as well as from the US Secretary of State. Marco Rubiowho called “on the international community to join forces and demonstrate to the dictatorship of Murillo and Ortega that it cannot hope to maintain a customary relationship with other nations while undermining the fundamental principles of our democratic hemisphere“.
Elections withoutcoup plotters neither traitors to the country“
In statements to the official press after leaving a meeting between the Legislative and electoral judges, Porras explained that the changes they promote seek prevent that those who Government determine what they are coup plotters or traitors can compete in an election.
“The important thing is that we leave constitutional rank that in this country we cannot accept elections where coup plotters, traitors to the country, where political parties and organisms financed with foreign moneywith foreign powers, by organizations foreigners“Porras said.
The Government led by Ortega together with his wife and co-president, Rosario Murillohas declared “traitors to the country” and stripped of his nationality to 452 Nicaraguansamong them the writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli, and the bishops Rolando Álvarez and Silvio Báez.
By clarifying that elections will be held in NicaraguaPorras clarified that it will be the Nicaraguans who are going to “determine and organize elections” in the country.
“Here we will never again be slaves of anyone, of no foreign power and never again will we have a Yankee, an imperialist directing our country’s elections,” he said.
“we cannot accept that in this country there are elections where they have a direct impact, ambassadors or representatives of powers and foreign organizations. That we cannot accept it”, he insisted.
The legislator said that after the consultations they hope to have the reform initiative ready in the first week of August, to approve them in the first of two terms.
Ortega, an 80-year-old former Sandinista guerrilla, governs Nicaragua since 2007 amid accusations of electoral fraudpolitical persecution and elimination of rivals to avoid the electoral competition.