Nicaraguan lawmakers are set to approve a constitutional reform restricting opposition participation in elections on Tuesday, parliamentary leader Gustavo Porras announced. Porras had previously indicated that the bill seeks to ban opposition members who autocratic leader Daniel Ortega considers U.S.-backed “sellouts” and “coup-mongers” from running for election. It also seeks to extend the presidential term from six to seven years. Ortega, 80, has been in power since 2006 and rules with an iron fist along with his equally powerful wife, co-president Rosario Murillo. The planned constitutional reform is the pair’s latest attempt for tighter control of the Central American country. The United States, European Union and United Nations have condemned the initiative. Thousands have fled the Central American nation since the repression of anti-government protests in 2018.
