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). 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. 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." 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. Later the same day they arrested economist
Juan Sebastián Chamorro, cousin of Cristiana and the fourth pre-candidate to be detained. 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; 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”. 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. 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. The following day, she received a summons from the government, 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. 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”.
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. On 19 October 2021
Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that the government would not invite the OAS mission, accusing them of being participants in the
2019 Bolivian political crisis. Moncada also said that "[the election] will count on the free participation of legally constituted political parties, which have legal personality and are participating individually or in alliance". Along with Cuba and Venezuela, Nicaragua was ranked in August 2021 as one of the countries with the worst electoral observation index in the region. In October a poll by the opposition-aligned Gallup-CID claimed that support for Ortega had dropped to 19%, while
M&R, a polling company contracted by the governing party, claimed Ortega's popular support to be at nearly 80%. A week before the vote the president declared that his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, was henceforth the “co-president” of the country, a term with no legal definition in Nicaragua. ==Conduct==