President Daniel Ortega, leader of the largest country in Central America, says there will be no more elections in Nicaragua.

Mr Ortega, who has been in power since 2007 and has his wife Rosario Murillo as co-president, made this declaration in a speech at an event commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution on Sunday. His first presidential term was from 1985 to 1990.

“There won’t be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power,” Mr Ortega said. “The days when parties backed by the Yankees and the Somocistas would return to power are over—never again.”

In 2018, Mr Ortega faced criticism from both the local and international community after over 300 people were killed during anti-government protests.

During Nicaragua’s election in 2021, Mr Ortega’s government was accused of crushing and illegally detaining opposition members to remain in power.

Mr Ortega’s presidential term was extended to six years, and his spouse was named as co-president in 2025.

The UN’s Human Rights Council berated Mr Ortega’s government of “arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions [and the] persecution of civil society and the media”.