Topic:
Country: Nicaragua
Delegate Name: Monica Kovacs
Free and fair elections are the foundation of democracy. Nicaragua is committed to promoting strengthening of democracy and ensuring electoral participation with equality, equity, and parity, as seen through their election oversight committee, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE). The CSE organizes, directs and supervises Nicaraguan elections ensuring that they are free, transparent, and impartial, as well as providing training programs and civic education to inform citizens on electoral processes.
In the past Nicaragua hosted several initiatives to ensure all parties in Nicaragua have equal access to voting, in particular for peoples with disabilities. For example, in 2005 the SOLIDEZ Foundation, a NGO specializing in assistance to women with a disability, partnered with the Nicaraguan Federation of Organizations Associations for Rehabilitation and Integration (FECONORI) to improve voting for persons with a disability by building wooden ramps to facilitate access to voting centers as well as recruiting and training facilitators of the vote of the disabled.
Yet, during Nicaragua’s most recent 2021 election, terrorism was rampant, as several opposition parties called on voters to boycott the elections and committed destabilizing acts with funding from foreign powers. Nicaragua’s government defended its national integrity by detaining 36 of these terrorists, in accordance with Nicaragua’s Law for the Defense of the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination for Peace. These charges therefore reestablished Nicaragua’s elections as both free and fair, being a necessary restriction against corruption. However, the detainments sparked outrage in the international community due to foreign governments’ wish to interfere in Nicaragua’s internal affairs, through U.S. and EU sanctions which only further put the nation at risk of anti-democratic processes.
When thinking about improving the quality of electoral processes, it is essential to ensure that future UNODC and international efforts do not inhibit a nation’s sovereignty or limit their ability to manage their own affairs. For that reason, the use of all proposed solutions should be determined by the nation in which they are being used, not enforced by any foreign entity including the UNODC, thereby respecting the national authority of all member nations. Furthermore, sanctions, including targeted sanctions, relating to “authoritarianism” or election processes should be dismissed and discouraged, as they often do not accurately reflect the state of the nation in question and limit nation’s sovereignty in prosecuting individuals who spread disinformation or who undermine national integrity. With that being said, implementing programs for people with disabilities, looking to Nicaragua as an example, will ensure equal access in the election process. In addition, programs to educate on the election process will work to restore trust in governments who have been accused of corruption, thereby increasing participation in democracy.
Works Cited:
https://feconori.org/en-el-marco-de-la-campana-en-unidad-y-solidaridad-todos-por-los-derechos-de-las-personas-con-discapacidad-se-realizaran-diferentes-actividades-a-nivel-nacional/
https://online.ucpress.edu/currenthistory/article/121/832/63/119608/History-and-Divisions-in-Nicaragua-s-Disability
https://feconori.org/category/ultimas-noticias/
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https://www.ifes.org/news/new-ifes-book-documents-methods-mobilize-disabled-voters
https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/new-push-european-democracy/protecting-democracy_en
https://americasquarterly.org/article/another-5-years-for-daniel-ortega/
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/democracy
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/11/03/five-reasons-why-elections-nicaragua-do-not-guarantee-human-rights
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59129894
https://freedomhouse.org/country/nicaragua/freedom-world/2022
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/20/nicaragua-trumped-charges-against-critics
https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2021/11/nicaraguas-farcical-election-marks-consolidation-of-ortegas-autocracy?lang=en
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/nicaraguas-ortega-seeks-re-election-with-opposition-candidates-jail-2021-11-07/
https://unric.org/en/the-role-of-the-united-nations-in-ensuring-free-and-fair-elections/
