Nicaragua’s National Assembly announced today that it is preparing a «work plan» to carry out an order from 81-year-old dictator Daniel Ortega to eliminate elections in the country. Ortega made the announcement during celebrations marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista People’s Revolution last Sunday.
According to a political source consulted by LA PRENSA, lawmakers’ objective is to introduce a constitutional reform that would abolish both the National Assembly and the state in their current form. In their place, a new body of 1,500 legislators would be elected to serve in their municipalities and local districts. They would convene only once a year.
«That annual meeting would be held to elect the president, when necessary, for a 10-year term. The executive body of this new Assembly would consist of 20 members, who would meet regularly. The constitutional reform would be ratified in January if the proposal currently under consideration moves forward,» the source confirmed.
If implemented, the plan would mean Ortega envisions remaining in power until at least the age of 91, by which time his dictatorship would have lasted 29 years.
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Speaking Sunday night, Ortega said he would not allow opposition groups seeking to «seize power» to gain ground and announced that the National Assembly would draft legislation to «build a wall, a barrier against coup plotters and traitors.»
Ortega Regime Defies International Community
The Ortega government’s latest move represents a direct challenge to the United States and the broader international community. Hours before the parliamentary announcement, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Ortega-Murillo regime of «undermining the principles of the hemisphere» and called on the international community to take action, according to an official statement.
The National Assembly, led by Speaker Gustavo Porras, issued a statement saying lawmakers are «beginning the necessary analysis to develop a work plan that fulfills the presidential directives.»
Porras is considered one of Vice President Rosario Murillo’s closest loyalists and is among the 54 officials identified by the United Nations as members of a network of repressors allegedly responsible for committing crimes against humanity against the Nicaraguan people.
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