Nicaraguan leader proposes extending presidential term by another year

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has put forward a constitutional change that would lengthen the presidential mandate by one year. Ortega, 80, has led Nicaragua since 2007, and the country’s government-controlled National Assembly is expected to approve the proposal in September, according to the BBC.

The planned reform would also prevent opposition figures labeled by the government as “traitors” or “coup plotters” from seeking office. The BBC notes that Ortega’s government has grown more authoritarian over time, with opponents imprisoned, forced abroad or deprived of citizenship. The latest proposal follows earlier constitutional changes: in 2014, lawmakers removed presidential term limits, and in 2024 they increased the term from five to six years.

The BBC also reports that the legislature previously backed Ortega’s decision to make his wife, Rosario Murillo, a “co-president,” a move that could allow her to take over if Ortega were declared permanently absent. Murillo had already been a major political figure, and the change formalized her position near the top of the state.

The development matters because it would further consolidate power around Ortega and Murillo ahead of future elections. Nicaragua’s last presidential vote, in November 2021, was widely described as one-sided after a crackdown in which major potential challengers were detained, disqualified or pushed into exile. The BBC cites UN human rights chief Volker Türk as warning that repression has intensified, with the rule of law weakened and dissidents facing growing persecution since security forces crushed 2018 anti-government protests that left more than 300 people dead.