MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s National Assembly on Tuesday passed a first-reading constitutional reform that extends co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s term from six to seven years, cancels the November 2026 election calendar, and locks opposition figures labeled “traitors to the homeland” out of politics.
The Sandinista-controlled assembly approved the package in León. Murillo said a second ratification vote is due Jan. 18, 2027, as Nicaraguan law requires two legislative sessions for constitutional changes. The text also stretches terms for legislators, mayors, and the heads of the army and police, and widens the Supreme Electoral Council’s power to cancel parties.
Ortega said on July 19 that “there won’t be any more elections.” After U.S. and OAS criticism, the reform stops short of formally abolishing elections while postponing the next national vote to 2028 and codifying bans on candidates tied to alleged coup plots, foreign financing, or sanctions. Reuters reported the first-passage vote; El País detailed the term extension and opposition veto.
The OAS has delayed a foreign ministers’ meeting on Nicaragua that 29 Permanent Council members endorsed Aug. 19. Brazil voted against convening it; Mexico abstained. Exile lawyers called the package a usurpation that leaves voters choosing only regime-approved options.
