Nicaragua to reform constitution, barring 'traitors' from elections

Nicaragua is set to approve a partial constitutional reform in September that aims to bar opposition figures considered "traitors to the homeland" from participating in elections. Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that the reform process will undergo consultations with various sectors before its expected approval in early September. This move follows President Daniel Ortega's assertion that elections will not be used by the opposition to seize power.

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we will not have elections again so that they (the opposition) try to capture the Government, capture power through them.

The proposed reform has already generated significant international backlash. Concerns have been voiced by Costa Rica, the United States, Panama, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the European Union, Uruguay, the OAS Secretary General Alberto Ramdin, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk. These nations and organizations have expressed worry or outright rejection of Ortega's statements and the potential implications of the reform.

Murillo stated that legislators met with accredited ambassadors in Nicaragua to explain the objective of the constitutional reform initiative. The Assembly, controlled by the ruling Sandinista party, has begun consultations with various authorities, including the Supreme Court of Justice, the military, and the police, all coordinated by the presidency. President Ortega, who has governed since 2007 amidst accusations of electoral fraud and the suppression of opposition, proposed eliminating elections, arguing they are a means for the opposition to attempt to capture the government.

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We are awaiting the results of this first respectful meeting with the diplomatic community living and working in Nicaragua.

Gustavo Porras, president of the National Assembly, clarified that elections will still be held but under a new constitutional framework designed to shield them from foreign interference and "traitors to the homeland." This statement, however, comes after Ortega's strong declaration that elections would not be permitted as a pathway to power for the opposition, raising further questions about the future of democratic participation in Nicaragua.

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elections will be held in Nicaragua but under a new constitutional framework that shields them from foreign interference and from 'traitors to the homeland' in the country.