General elections were held in Nicaragua on 7 November 2021 to elect the President, the National Assembly and members of the Central American Parliament. These were the last elections held before Ortega's abolition of elections in Nicaragua in 2026, citing a perceived need to form a "wall" against opposition movements.
President Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front sought re-election, while five opposition candidates appeared on the ballot. In early June, police arrested five other potential opposition candidates: Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, Arturo Cruz Jr., Félix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastián Chamorro and Miguel Mora. In July candidates Medardo Mairena and were arrested, while Luis Fley and went into exile due to threats of arrest. Critics stated that these arrests were intended to prevent the opposition candidates from running against Ortega.
The deadline for candidates to register was 2 August 2021. On 6 August the small party (CxL) was disqualified from running by the Supreme Electoral Council after a complaint by the right-wing Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PLC), the largest opposition party in parliament, because the leadership of a party by someone holding dual Nicaraguan-US citizenship is illegal. As a result PLC presidential candidate resigned in protest, claiming the PLC was still under the influence of disgraced former president Arnoldo Alemán. On 3 August CxL vice-presidential candidate Berenice Quezada had been placed under house arrest and disqualified from running, charged with inciting violence, provocation and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts.
The elections were described as a sham by the European Union, the Organization of American States, the United States, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and some independent election observers and human rights groups, due to the intimidation, detention and disqualification of opposition journalists and politicians, since in their view these actions secured victory for Ortega and his allies.Multiple sources:
Electoral system The president was elected using first-past-the-post voting.Constitution of Nicaragua, Article 146.
The 90 elected members of the National Assembly were elected by two methods; 20 members were elected from a single nationwide constituency, whilst 70 members were elected from 17 multi-member constituencies ranging in size from 2 to 19 seats. Both types of seats were elected by closed list proportional representation with no electoral threshold. A further two seats were reserved for the runner-up in the presidential election and the outgoing president (or their vice president).
Lists of candidates for the National Assembly and to the Central American Parliament must have an equal number of "male" and "female" candidates (the law specifying this does not define either term).Constitution of Nicaragua, Article 131.
Presidential candidates Partyor allianceSandinista National Liberation FrontConstitutionalist Liberal PartyNicaraguan Party of the Christian PathAlliance for the RepublicIndependent Liberal PartyNicaraguan Liberal AllianceCandidateDaniel OrtegaGuillermo OsornoGerson GutiérrezMauricio OruéMarcelo Montiel
Individuals withdrawing, arrested or disqualified Several prominent individuals did not participate in the election, including PLC presidential candidate Milton Arcia, who resigned in protest at his party's actions in getting the CxL party banned and was replaced by , former Contra leader Luis Fley who left the country to avoid arrest, and YATAMA activist George Henriquez, who withdrew from his party. Individuals arrested included farmers leader Medardo Mairena, who had previously been convicted of the July 2018 terrorist attack on the Morrito police station which left four police and one civilian dead, journalist Miguel Mora, who was found guilty of inciting the arson attack on Radio Ya in May 2018, and has called for a "Panama-style" invasion of Nicaragua by the U.S., political scientist Félix Maradiaga, economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro, media owner Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, who was accused of transferring $7m from her non-profit organisation to her personal bank account, and former Contra, Ambassador to the United States and now academic Arturo Cruz Jr.
Campaign Lead-up to campaign In May 2021 a CID-Gallup poll (a small polling organisation linked to the opposition with no connection with the well-known international Gallup group) reported 33% support for the incumbent president.
In May Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council revoked the legal status of the small opposition party Democratic Restoration Party (PRD).
The same week the government opened an investigation into Cristiana Chamorro's work at the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, alleging money laundering, which threatened to disqualify her candidacy as people under investigation are barred from running. The day Chamorro was called in for questioning, the police also raided the news offices of her brother Carlos's media channel, Confidencial, confiscating equipment and arresting a cameraman. Chamorro subsequently announced she would join the primary, alongside seven other candidates, for the conservative Citizens for Liberty party, the only remaining opposition party legally qualified to field a candidate in the November 2021 election, after the PRD's disqualification. The Ortega government then announced she was disqualified from running; the Secretary General for the Organization of American States, Luis Almagro, issued a statement saying: "Actions like this remove all political credibility from the government and the organizers of the electoral process." On 2 June the government raided Chamorro's house and detained her 15 minutes before she was scheduled to give a press conference. Almagro criticized the arrest.
On 5 June the government arrested another potential candidate, Arturo Cruz. He was detained for allegations he “attacked Nicaraguan society and the rights of the people” in violation of Law No. 1055, enacted in December 2020, the “law for the defense of the rights of the people to independence, sovereignty, and self-determination for peace”, called the “Guillotine Law” by critics.
On 8 June the government arrested a third potential candidate, Félix Maradiaga, a leader of the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) opposition group. Later the same day they arrested economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro, cousin of Cristiana and the fourth pre-candidate to be detained.
On 13 June five more opposition leaders were arrested. These included four members of the leadership of the left-wing Unamos party consisting of former FSLN activists: party president Suyen Barahona.
On 15 June the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States issued a statement saying it “unequivocally condemns the arrest, harassment and arbitrary restriction imposed on potential presidential candidates, political parties and independent media outlets" and called for “the immediate release of potential candidates and all political prisoners.” A large majority of member states (26) endorsed the statement; however, Mexico and Argentina did not sign onto the resolution.
On 20 June the government arrested Miguel Mora, a pre-candidate who had been affiliated with the PRD. Following Mora's arrest, Mexico and Argentina jointly recalled their ambassadors from Nicaragua for consultation, citing “the worrying political-legal actions carried out by the Nicaraguan government in recent days that have put at risk the integrity and freedom of various opposition figures (including presidential candidates), Nicaraguan activists and businessmen”.
Peasant leader Medardo Mairena was arrested on the night of 5 July 2021, the sixth pre-candidate to be detained and one of roughly two dozen opposition and civic leaders detained by the Ortega government since the beginning of June 2021. Two other peasant leaders and two student leaders were also arrested that night. Like most of those already arrested, they are accused of violations of Law 1055, “performing acts that undermine independence, sovereignty, and self-determination“. All detained have been sentenced to 90 days of preventative detention.
On 9 July law professor and Civic Alliance attorney María Asunción Moreno announced her intention to register as a pre-candidate with the CxL. The following day, she received a summons from the government, and, following information that she would be arrested, went into hiding. She later went into exile.
On 12 July Luis Fley confirmed he had gone into exile in response to “threats from the dictatorship to arrest me”. He also withdrew his candidacy, saying that with so many candidates jailed the election was already compromised and his continued candidacy would only play into Ortega's hand.
Kitty Monterrey, president of the CxL, announced the two primary candidates would be and . However, businessman and former Contra commander and CxL vice-president Oscar Sobalvarro was added to the list on 24 July.
Later on 24 July the government announced the investigation and then the arrest of ACxL pre-candidate Noel Vidaurre, who had challenged Ortega in previous elections. As with most of the other candidates, Vidaurre was accused of violating Law 1055, committing “treason to the homeland”. He was held in police custody at his home. Political commentator Jaime Arellano was detained the same day.
Official campaigning and candidates The deadline for candidates to register was 2 August 2021.
On 3 August CxL vice-presidential candidate Berenice Quezada was placed under house arrest and barred from running on charges of "apology for crime and incitement to hatred" following campaign statements allegedly sympathizing with the 2018–2021 Nicaraguan protests. The Guardian reported that "She was the eighth contender in the election to be arrested since May. The other seven candidates and about two dozen opposition leaders have been arrested on vague treason charges. Most of those arrested in the crackdown are being held incommunicado, at undisclosed locations and with no access to lawyers."
On 6 August, following a complaint from Constitutionalist Liberal Party (PCL) board and its president María Haydee Osuna that CxL president Kitty Monterrey was a dual national, the Supreme Electoral Council cancelled the legal status of the CxL and instructed the relevant administrative body to revoke Monterrey's national identity card. Arcia, the PLC's candidate, resigned in protest at the PLC's role in the events; he was immediately replaced by PLC National Assembly deputy . On 11 August the PLC vice-presidential nominee María Dolores Moncada resigned, refusing to continue on the ticket with Espinoza.
In September the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights made statements criticising the detention of opposition activists. Family members of detained activists including would-be candidate Juan Sebastián Chamorro and opposition activists Víctor Tinoco, Tamara Dávila and Lesther Alemán told the press of their poor treatment, including isolation and lack of access to health care. Also in September a warrant was issued for the arrest of Sergio Ramírez, a former Sandinista activist and then MRS activist, who escaped into exile in Costa Rica.