Nicaragua's Ortega seeks to ban 'traitors' from future elections

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega aims to exclude "traitors" and "coup-plotting" opposition members from elections, while also seeking to extend the presidential ​term from six to seven "renewable" years, according to a draft ‌constitutional reform sent to Congress on Tuesday evening.
Congress President Gustavo Porras previewed the content of the reform on Tuesday, according to several media outlets, though he did ​not provide many details.
The proposal is expected to be approved in ​September and follows recent statements by the president that there ⁠would be no elections in the Central American nation in order to ​prevent the opposition from "seizing the government."
"Our system of government, under the presidency ​of the people, proposes to be organised with an effective term of seven renewable years," Porras said as he read the proposal.
A previous constitutional amendment was ​passed in 2024 that extended the presidential term from five to ​six years and elevated Rosario Murillo, Ortega's wife and then-vice president, to the position ‌of ⁠co-president – a move criticised by opponents as a plan to keep the presidential family in power indefinitely.
It also postponed planned elections until late 2027.
The president, a former Marxist rebel, began his fourth consecutive term in January ​2022 after winning an ​election the ⁠previous November, amid growing criticism and sanctions from much of the international community, led by the United States ​and the European Union.
He helped overthrow the right-wing dictatorship ​of the ⁠Somoza family in the late 1970s and has been the longest-serving leader in the Americas since returning to power in 2007.
Nicaragua has been in the ⁠midst ​of a political crisis since April 2018, ​when Ortega responded to anti-government protests with a crackdown that killed more than 300 people, according ​to human rights organisations.


-Reuters