Nicaragua's Ortega proposes extending presidential term by one year

Key facts

• Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed extending the presidential term by one year.
• The proposed constitutional reform aims to bar opposition members deemed "traitors" or "coup plotters" from running for office.
• The National Assembly is expected to approve the extension in September.
• Presidential term limits were previously scrapped in 2014, and the term length was extended to six years in 2024.
• Rosario Murillo was named "co-president", potentially allowing her to succeed Ortega.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007, has proposed extending the presidential term by an additional year. The government-controlled National Assembly is expected to approve the extension in September as part of a proposed constitutional reform. This reform also includes provisions to bar opposition members deemed "traitors" or "coup plotters" by the government from running for office.

Ortega's rule has become increasingly authoritarian, marked by the jailing and exile of political opponents. The country's presidential term has seen several changes; term limits were removed in 2014, and the term length was extended from five to six years in 2024. The legislative body also approved Ortega's plan to name his wife, Rosario Murillo, as "co-president," potentially positioning her to assume the presidency if Ortega is declared "permanently absent."

Presidential elections were last held in November 2021, with Ortega winning after a severe crackdown on opposition candidates, many of whom were detained or forced into exile. The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Türk, has noted a deepening of government repression and a steady erosion of the rule of law, with escalating persecution of political dissidents. Following the 2018 quashing of anti-government protests, which resulted in over 300 deaths, few Nicaraguans have publicly opposed Ortega and Murillo. Dissidents living in exile have also faced government actions, including the stripping of their citizenship and seizure of their property.