With Peru’s vote, the OAS demands the immediate release of detained candidates and free elections in Nicaragua

The Organization of American States (OAS) passed a new resolution on Wednesday calling for free elections in Nicaragua, in which he again demanded the “immediate release” of the detained opponents, including seven presidential candidates, and warned about the “deterioration” of the situation of political rights.

The text was supported by 26 of the 34 active members of the regional bloc (including Peru). Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines abstained. There were no votes against.

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Nicaragua, which strongly rejected the initiative, was the only country that did not vote.

The resolution, very similar to the one approved on June 15 with the same number of votes in favor, highlights “with alarm” the “commitment” of the government of Daniel Ortega to “undermine” the electoral process.

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And it expresses its “grave concern” that the attempts of the OAS Permanent Council to “commit” the Nicaraguan authorities to hold free and fair elections have been “ignored.”

Because, reiterates “its call for the immediate release of the presidential candidates and political prisoners” and urges once again “vehemently” the government of Ortega to carry out electoral reforms.

According to the resolution, Nicaragua does not meet the minimum criteria for holding elections in accordance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the regional instrument for the defense of institutions, which “weakens the credibility” of the vote scheduled for November 7.

In recent months, 37 opponents have been detained in Nicaragua, including seven candidates for the presidency for the next elections, where Ortega, in power since 2007, aspires to a fourth consecutive term.

Managua denounced the “rude” interference of the OAS in the internal affairs of a country.

“No one should intervene in the direction of our institutional life”Said Ambassador Michael Campbell at the beginning of the Permanent Council meeting, justifying his non-participation.

The Nicaraguan official assured that the electoral process “advances” with a dozen political parties and that “those who excluded themselves did so voluntarily.”

“In our country there is not a single candidate arrested, not one. There is not a single innocent accused. Not one”, he claimed.

“Those who are being subjected to legal proceedings are foreign agents” that “They interned millions of dollars to destroy, kill, bankrupt the economy and subvert the constitutional order”, said the delegate of Ortega.

Invoke the Inter-American Charter?

The resolution, sponsored by Antigua and Barbuda, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the United States, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (represented by a delegate of the opposition leader Juan Guaidó), was celebrated by the Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro .

“This shows the commitment of the member states to democracy”he said, underlining that what is happening in Nicaragua “is not just a problem for Nicaraguans” but for the entire region.

The text warns that the OAS can take “other actions” in relation to Nicaragua during the next annual assembly of the organization, which will take place in virtual format from November 10 to 13, organized by Guatemala.

The United States was the most emphatic in this regard.

Bradley Freden, Washington Acting Representative to the OASHe urged the countries to take new measures within the framework of the Inter-American Democratic Charter if “the Nicaraguan regime complies with its plan to reaffirm the government of a party.”

Failure to do so in the face of such blatant disregard for its provisions can only encourage other authoritarian governments to follow suit.”He warned.

Almagro already asked in June to activate the mechanisms to apply Article 21 of the Inter-American Charter to Nicaragua.

This provision establishes that a country can be suspended from the OAS if two thirds of the member states decide that there has been a “breakdown of the democratic order” and “diplomatic efforts have been unsuccessful” to reverse the situation.

The suspension must be voted on in the General Assembly, the highest organ of the OAS, and would take effect immediately.

After Wednesday’s vote, the Mexican ambassador to the OAS, Luz Elena Baños, indicated her “concern” over what she considered a worsening of the international isolation of a member state.

“It is clear that isolating nations within multilateral forums is a symptom of the failure of organizations,” he said, questioning Almagro without naming him and calling for a “constructive dialogue” towards “sustainable solutions.”

The Argentine ambassador to the OAS, Carlos Raimundi, considered the new resolution “inappropriate and untimely”.

Leftist governments in Argentina and Mexico have undoubtedly distanced themselves from Managua. Both called their ambassadors in Nicaragua for consultations in June due to the “worrying political-legal actions carried out” against the opponents.

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Deshawn