Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007, proposed extending the presidential term by one year.
The government-controlled National Assembly is expected to approve the extension in September.
It is part of a proposed constitutional reform that also includes plans to ban opposition members whom the government deems ‘traitors’ or ‘coup plotters’ from running for public office.
The octogenarian’s rule became increasingly authoritarian, with political opponents imprisoned, exiled and stripped of their citizenship.
Ortega’s 19 years in power have already seen several changes to his presidency.
In 2014, the National Assembly abolished presidential term limits, and in 2024, extended the term from five to six years.
The legislature also approved Ortega’s plan to name his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-president.”
This clears the way for her to assume the presidency if Ortega, who is reportedly in poor health, is declared “permanently absent.”
