Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department’s policies of the low voter turnout in local elections in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan municipal elections held on 6 November were neither free nor fair. On 8 November, I issued a statement highlighting the "deepening authoritarianism and lack of political freedom" in Nicaragua. Free and fair elections which include a credible opposition are the foundations of a stable democracy. We regularly raise the deteriorating political and human rights situation with Nicaraguan government representatives in London, in Managua, at multilateral fora and publicly through a series of statements. The UK will continue to work closely with our partners to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Nicaragua.