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Nicaragua’s parliament approves reform barring opponents from elections
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Elections & Politics

Nicaragua’s parliament approves reform barring opponents from elections

From Le Temps · () French

Translated from French and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Approved/passed
  • Nicaragua’s National Assembly unanimously approved a constitutional reform that bars people involved in alleged coup-related acts, treason or requests for foreign military intervention from taking part in elections.
  • The reform extends the presidential term from six to seven years and further consolidates President Daniel Ortega’s control over the political system.
  • The measure has drawn international rejection, while the United States and its Organization of American States allies have called for action against Nicaragua.

Nicaragua’s parliament has unanimously approved a constitutional reform that makes it harder for opponents of President Daniel Ortega to participate in elections, tightening a political system already dominated by his government.

The reform excludes people accused of taking part in “coup-related acts” or “treason,” as well as those who seek foreign military intervention. It also extends the presidential mandate to seven years. The term had already risen from five to six years under the Constitution adopted in 2025.

The measure has largely symbolic force in a country where opponents have been jailed or driven into exile. Only smaller parties aligned with the government remain alongside Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN. The 2025 Constitution had already barred political parties that did not share the FSLN’s ideological line and postponed legislative elections from November 2026 to November 2027.

No more elections that allow them to try to seize power.

— Daniel OrtegaOrtega used the phrase while announcing the reform and referring to his opponents.

Ortega said the reform would protect Nicaragua from interference by Washington, which he accuses of trying to remove him through the 2018 protest movement. The repression of those protests left about 350 people dead, according to the United Nations. Announcing the reform in July, Ortega said there would be “no more elections that allow them to try to seize power,” referring to his opponents. He also said that parties installed by “the Yankees” returning to government was over permanently.

The United States and its allies in the Organization of American States urged the body in early August to take measures against Nicaragua, although no meeting date had been set. Ortega first governed Nicaragua in the 1980s, returned to power in 2007 and has since been reelected in contests marked by irregularities. The article notes growing concern over a “dynastic dictatorship” under Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo.

The history of parties installed by the Yankees returning to government is over, forever.

— Daniel OrtegaHe described the reform as a permanent barrier against the return of U.S.-backed political forces.
About this summary

Originally published by Le Temps in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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