Two days before Americans go to polls on Nov. 8, Nicaragua, a country also in the Americas, will also hold its own supposedly democratic election but whose outcome is already widely expected: the second reelection of President Daniel Ortega.
Running without a credible opposition rival, Ortega looks almost certain to win a third presidential term, according to The Guardian.
Ortega's government earlier removed the opposing National Coalition for Democracy from the ballot, and curtailed the right to independent national and international observation of the Nov. 6 presidential election, the Havana Times reported. Hence, opposition forces have decried the forthcoming election as a "farce."
To pre-empt any outside meddling or influence that could put into question Ortega's expected electoral victory, his government has imposed new restrictions on foreign Christian missionaries entering the country, according to CBN News. These missionaries must now submit in detail the purpose of their entry before the government decides on whether they should be allowed in.
Last Aug. 26, the Nicaraguan immigration office denied entry to two Catholic missionaries who were coming to offer a post-graduate course in Theology in one of the Catholic dioceses in the country, the Havana Times reported.
One bishop, Enrique Herrera, criticised the blockade placed on the missionaries. However, in their Aug. 29 pastoral message, the Episcopal Conference made no mention of this new restriction.
In its pronouncement, the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua avoided a specific call to vote and recognised the population's right not to do so. It called on Nicaraguan citizens to "decide and act according to the dictates of their inner conscience, freely and without fear of any type of outside coercion."
"Each person should engage in serious reflection in order to decide what they consider most just and convenient for the present and future of the country," the bishops said.
In mid-June, in the days following the exclusion of the opposition from the elections, the Episcopal Conference issued a statement deploring "any intent to create the conditions to impose a single party regime."
Nevertheless, the bishops called on the people "to act peacefully, respecting each person's legitimate options and avoiding anything that threatens the physical and moral integrity of others."
They also encouraged the people to "never lose hope, especially in the darkest and most adverse moments."
