The president of the Nicaraguan National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, clarified this Wednesday the controversial statements made by co-president Daniel Ortega and assured that elections will indeed be held in the country, although under a new constitutional framework that excludes those whom the regime labels as "coup plotters" and "traitors to the homeland," according to information provided in an interview with international media.
Porras' words came to mitigate the damage caused by the speech Ortega delivered this Sunday during the commemoration of the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, where the 80-year-old ruler was explicit: “There will be no elections here again”, to prevent the opposition from “seizing the government, seizing power.”
The parliamentary leader reinterpreted those words to the press after a meeting between the Legislative body and the electoral judges, asserting that what Ortega intended to say is that in Nicaragua "there will never again be elections in the hands of imperialists."
Porras was categorical in defining the limits of the process that the regime is willing to allow: "The important thing is that we establish a constitutional range in which in this country we cannot accept elections involving coup plotters, traitors to the homeland, where parties and organizations financed with foreign money, by foreign powers, and by foreign organizations participate."
The leader also dismissed any international supervision: "Here, we will never again be slaves to anyone, to any foreign power, and we will never again have a Yankee or an imperialist directing the elections in our country."
Porras' statements came a day after the National Assembly released a work plan to reform the Constitution and other laws, during special sessions with the Supreme Electoral Council.
The regime of Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo had already declared «traitors to the homeland» and stripped 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, including writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli, as well as bishops Rolando Álvarez and Silvio Báez.
Ortega's original announcement triggered an immediate backlash in the region. Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama condemned his statements, with the latter calling its ambassador in Managua back for consultations.
The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, called on the international community to isolate the regime, stating that the ruler's remarks "expose the true authoritarian nature" of the dictatorship.
The Under Secretary of State Christopher Landau was even more direct in comparing Nicaragua to Cuba: "Abolishing elections allows the government to trap its people, as Cuba has demonstrated over the last 67 years."
International pressure on Managua has intensified in recent months. In April 2026, Washington sanctioned two children of Ortega and Murillo along with seven mining companies, and in June, it expanded visa restrictions to more than 100 officials, bringing the total number of sanctioned individuals to over 2,350 people.
The OAS also demanded consensus for the restoration of democracy and the release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua.
Ortega has been ruling the country since 2007, and in January 2025, he promoted a constitutional reform that amended 185 of the 198 articles of the Constitution, established indefinite reelection, and moved the general elections from November 2026 to November 2027.
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