Nicaraguan lawmakers approve reform expanding Ortega’s power

The Nicaraguan parliament, dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front, on Friday approved a constitutional reform that hands more power to President Daniel Ortega as well as the Central American nation’s police and military.

The Nicaraguan parliament, dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front, on Friday approved a constitutional reform that hands more power to President Daniel Ortega as well as the Central American nation’s police and military. The reform increases the president’s control over the media, extends the presidential term to six years from five, and changes the roles of vice president and president to those of “co-presidents.” Vice President Rosario Murillo, who is Ortega’s wife, will now become his co-president. The two have been married since 2005 and she was made vice president in 2017. Ortega has cracked down on dissent over recent years. More than 200 political prisoners were freed early last year and expelled to the United States, including five former presidential hopefuls who had been jailed after seeking to challenge the increasingly authoritarian Ortega in a 2021 election. Under the new reform, the co-presidents will have control over the legislature, judiciary and electoral, public administration, and oversight bodies as well as autonomous entities. It also mandates that the state will ensure media are not “subject to foreign interests and do not spread false news.”