Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega aims to bar ‘traitors’ from future elections

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing its staff and Reuters, reported that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is pursuing a constitutional reform that would block people labelled as “traitors” or “coup-plotting” opposition figures from taking part in future elections. The draft, sent to Congress, would also lengthen the presidential term from six years to seven, with the term described as renewable.

According to the report, Congress President Gustavo Porras outlined parts of the proposal on Tuesday, though he offered limited detail. The measure is expected to be approved in September. Al Jazeera said the draft follows Ortega’s recent remarks suggesting there should be no elections in Nicaragua to prevent the opposition from taking power.

The proposed changes would build on a 2024 constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term from five to six years, elevated Ortega’s wife, Rosario Murillo, from vice president to co-president, and delayed scheduled elections until late 2027. Critics cited by Al Jazeera have characterized those earlier changes as a way to keep Ortega’s family in power without a clear endpoint.

Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla who helped oust the Somoza dictatorship, returned to Nicaragua’s presidency in 2007 and began a fourth consecutive term in January 2022 after an election widely criticized abroad. Al Jazeera noted that his government has faced international sanctions and condemnation, particularly from the United States and European Union, amid a broader crackdown on civil society. Human rights groups say more than 300 people were killed after anti-government protests erupted in April 2018.