Nicaragua parliament bans opposition from elections
The new amendment extends the president's term from six to seven years, and bans any member of the opposition involved in planning or carrying out a coup d'etat from running for office.
An aerial view of Nicaragua's National Assembly members gathered with police officers, students, and farmers during a session to approve constitutional reforms outside the Leon Cathedral in Leon, Nicaragua on September 1, 2026. (AFP)
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COSTA RICA — Nicaragua's lawmakers approved a constitutional reform on Tuesday restricting opposition participation in elections, National Assembly leader Gustavo Porras announced.
The new amendment extends the president's term from six to seven years, and bans any member of the opposition involved in planning or carrying out a coup d'etat from running for office.
Porras said the general vote was "approved unanimously" in a special session held in front of Leon Cathedral, 90 kilometers (56 miles) northwest of the capital Managua.
The change is a win for autocratic leader Daniel Ortega, 80, who has been in power since 2006 and rules along with his equally powerful wife, co-president Rosario Murillo.
The constitutional reform is the pair's latest attempt for tighter control of the Central American nation.
In 2018, the suppression of anti-government protests left over 300 dead, according to the United Nations.
Political opposition in the country has been greatly diminished since then.
Ortega and Murillo have described the protests as "an attempted coup" financed by the United States.
Leaders-in-exile warn that the new amendment is designed to ensure succession of power within the Ortega-Murillo family, if the president succumbs to his lupus and kidney problems.
With these changes, "people will only be able to choose among the dictatorship's options," exiled opposition lawyer Juan Diego Barbarena told AFP.
International backlash
The United States, the European Union and the UN have condemned the initiative.
The EU condemned "the systemic repression by Nicaraguan authorities" and urged them to hold free elections.
The Organization of American States, a Washington-based body that works to promote development and cooperation in the Americas, has approved an emergency foreign ministers' meeting to discuss sanctions against Nicaragua.
The date of the meeting is not confirmed.
After Tuesday's approval, the reform is expected to be ratified in a second legislative session set to begin in early 2027.
Ortega first became president of Nicaragua after the leftist Sandinista revolution toppled the US-backed right-wing regime of Anastasio Somoza in 1979.
Ortega served one term, from 1985 to 1990, before running for election again in 2006. He has been re-elected three times since in flawed polls.
Almost a million Nicaraguans have sought exile in Costa Rica, the United States and Spain over the last eight years.