La Prensa, Jan 27, 2025
This decision establishes that the illegitimacy of the regime began with the re-election of Ortega in 2011 and reaffirms that the electoral system of Nicaragua lacks independence.
The ruling of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights in the Gadea Mantilla vs Nicaragua case, which condemned the State of Nicaragua for allowing the presidential re-election in 2011 of dictator Daniel Ortega, while being prohibited by the Constitution, opens the door for the international community to not recognize the Ortega-Murillo regime. In addition, it establishes that the illegitimacy of the dictatorship began with that re-election, nearly seven years before the explosion of the social and political crisis of April 2018.
Even though the Interamerican Court of Human Rights does not explicitly mention that Ortega is illegitimate, the conclusions of their ruling question the legitimacy of the electoral process which allowed for his re-election, and denounce the serious irregularities which affected the equality of conditions in the political contest.
The Interamerican Court of Human Rights, in their ruling, which came nearly 14 years after the elections, left clear that the re-election of Ortega does not constitute a human right, as the dictator argued to justify his re-election in 2011.
“The Court concluded that the lack of integrity of the electoral process favored the re-election of president Daniel Ortega and in addition, think that the Supreme Court and the Supreme Electoral Council showed partiality and did not ensure an effective judicial recourse to review the decisions which questioned irregularities in the process,” declared the president of the Interamerican Court of Human Rights, Nancy Hernández, in an event of the notification of the ruling.
A specialist, consulted under the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal, stated that the declaration that the re-election of Ortega in 2011 was unconstitutional and, therefore, null, has a fundamental impact, given that, for the first time, a high ranking international tribunal recognized for human rights matters, declared the illegitimacy, illegality and unconstitutionality of the origins of Ortega´s mandate.
“The ruling also addresses the abuse of power, the lack of judicial independence and deficiencies in the electoral processes. The Court points out that these irregularities have not been corrected in the last 14 years. In addition, it states that the electoral system is subjected to the interests of Ortega and lacks the necessary independence to ensure free, transparent and legitimate elections,” the specialist said.
Everything that Ortega did since 2011 is illegal
The specialist states that this ruling maintains that all the actions of Ortega after 2011 are illegal.
“A democratic government should immediately abide by this ruling to correct the noted irregularities. The argument of nullity for unconstitutionality and illegitimacy is a solid basis for not recognizing the acts and decisions of the illegal governments of Ortega, as well as to declare as null all that which harms the essential interests of the country,” he said.
The ruling held the State of Nicaragua responsible for the violation of political rights, judicial guarantees and access to justice of Fabio Gadea Mantilla, who, as a presidential candidate in the 2011 elections, denounced irregularities in the electoral process, among them the unconstitutionality of the presidential re-election.
“The Constitutional Chamber and the Full Chamber of the Supreme Court, while not applying a constitutional disposition which explicitly prohibited presidential re-election, tried to give an appearance of legality to the decision which enabled the candidacy of president Daniel Ortega,” explained judge Hernández.
The tribunal also concluded that “there is sufficient proof to establish that these decisions were aimed at ensuring the inscription of president Ortega as a candidate, and facilitate his continuity in the executive branch, which represented an improper use of state resources to benefit the government candidate,” added Hernández.
Thirteen years later
Even though processes before this Court tend to take between six and eight years, this case went beyond that average. In the mind of the specialist, this can be due to the complexity of the case.
“This is due to its complexity and the implications it will have, not just for Nicaragua, but also for all countries, while establishing jurisprudence on re-election and human rights issues,” he stated.
Nicaragua in contempt since 2022
In the notification of the ruling done electronically this past Thursday, no representative of the Nicaraguan State was present.
The Interamerican Court of Human Rights declared Nicaragua in contempt since 2022, after the judges issued multiple resolutions of provisional measures. They ordered the State to free and ensure the life and health of more than a hundred of dissidents of the Government of Daniel Ortega who remained in jail.
Since 2022 provisional measures have benefitted 115 people identified as “political prisoners” and their families.