The parliament of Nicaragua has come under criticism for shutting down 25 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that publicly criticized President Ortega and his leadership. Parliament, which is heavily controlled by the political allies of the President, voted in favor of shutting down these 25 NGOs. This move is a continuation of Mr. Ortega and his government persecuting and jailing people who voice support for opposition or criticism directed at Mr. Ortega’s leadership, which has gone on for the past four months. Mr. Ortega and his government have continued to persecute and jail members of organizations they deem to be supporters of the opposition.

Although exact numbers of opposition figures arrested are not exact, reports are that more than 24 have been given heavy prison sentences. Speaking in regard to this issue is Mr. Cardona, Head of the Permanent Commission on Human Rights. His organization is one of the NGOs which has been impacted by the actions of the government, and on the issue, he said, “There is no will from the government to have organizations documenting violations of human rights.” The reason his actions have been heavily criticized is that punishing people or organizations for voicing their opinion is contrary to the democratic values of governing international bodies. As it is contrary to democracy, it can also be seen as an abuse of human rights because all people have the right to voice their opinion and displeasure with leadership.

Censorship such as this, especially towards non-government organizations whose objective is to serve as a further voice of the people, and advocate for their protection if needed, is extremely undemocratic. This move by President Ortega is a clear power play because targeting his opposition and critiques allowed him to run almost unopposed in the last election, and continuing this tactic allowed for him to pass legislation to censor NGOs. This is not the first time Mr. Ortega has acted undemocratically and censored or persecuted his opposition. He first came into conflict with the international community prior to the election in November 2017, when he was criticized for convicting around 40 political opponents in the build-up to the election. His tactics resulted in him winning the election very easily, and the international community branded the election as a ‘farce’ because of this. Since a massive protest took place in 2018, which reflected the people’s unhappiness with Mr. Ortega’s leadership took place, he has responded by banning around 165 civil organizations.

Prior to his banning of NGOs, which is currently happening, he targeted civil organizations in his own state that spoke against him and his leadership. This demonstrates the history of Mr. Ortega’s time in power and his continued disregard for the principles of democracy owed to each member of Nicaragua. The actions of Mr. Ortega and his government are undemocratic because he and his government target political opposition through jail time and persecution. As a country that holds elections, Mr. Ortega and his party are responsible to the people, and part of this responsibility is providing free and fair elections. Jailing, persecuting, and censoring opposition voices does not promote democracy, and parties outside the state must continue to raise attention to this disregard for the democratic procedure.

If he wants to silence those who oppose him within his state, media outside the state can raise awareness of this disregard for democracy and lobby the international community to bring more spotlight to this issue. The principle of democracy is something that the international community holds dear, so they cannot let the blatant disregard for it continue in Nicaragua.