Daniel Ortega suspends this year’s elections and extends his mandate until 2028

Following its defiant declaration that “there will be no more elections here” — which drew widespread condemnation — the Nicaraguan parliament, loyal to Daniel Ortega and his wife, co-president Rosario Murillo, approved a constitutional amendment on the evening of September 1 that extends their term in office by one more year, from six to seven years. As a result, they have eliminated the election scheduled for November 2026 and postponed the next elections until 2028.

The move echoes one executed in 2025 to perpetuate their rule, when deputies approved a prior amendment to establish the “co-presidency” and extend the presidential term from five to six years. Now, after 45 days of uncertainty triggered by Ortega’s July 19 proposal to permanently abolish elections, they have extended the term from six to seven years.

“The terms of authorities elected by popular vote in the most recent General, Municipal and Regional Elections in force are extended to seven years,” reads the article approved by the ruling party in a session held in León, in western Nicaragua, at the foot of the imposing colonial cathedral where the remains of the poet Rubén Darío rest — the poet idolized in Nicaragua and repeatedly invoked by the president of the National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, to justify the reforms. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it requires ratification in two legislative sessions: the second is scheduled for January 18, 2027, Murillo reported.

Veto on the opposition

The reform locks into the Constitution the exclusion — which had already been operating de facto — of the opposition, by banning from public office, party candidacies, or party leadership anyone the co-presidential regime considers “linked to coup attempts, foreign financing, international sanctions, or acts against sovereignty,” as well as those labeled “traitors to the homeland.”

Opposition lawyer in exile Juan Diego Barberena says the reform does not set out “expressly, that is, explicitly” the end of elections, although in practice it produces the same effect. “It prevents the people of Nicaragua from being able to choose freely, because they will only be able to choose among the dictatorship’s options — the options the group in power deems eligible to participate in an election,” he says.

The amendment also extends to seven years the terms for popularly elected offices and the heads of the army and the police, while granting the Supreme Electoral Council greater powers to cancel parties and sanction candidates or leaders for alleged violations of sovereignty. It also moves the inauguration from January 10 — a date linked to the assassination of journalist Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, a symbol of freedoms now curtailed in Nicaragua — to January 18, in homage to Rubén Darío.

More time in power

However, the reform represents a retreat from Ortega’s July 19 threat to definitively dismantle the electoral system. After criticism from the United States, the Organization of American States (OAS) and other international actors, the regime chose to lower its tone: it does not formally eliminate elections, but it lengthens its stay in power and further narrows the space for real competition.

Barberena also warns that the text could be modified in the second legislative session. “I believe that in the second sitting they could add provisions related to the automatic renewal of this seven-year term, because experience shows they add other provisions at that stage,” he says. He also sees a political calculation in the maneuver: “Extending to seven years and, consequently, remaining in power until 2028 — which is a usurpation of power, both politically and legally — is also being done with the calculation of outlasting the Trump administration’s term.”

Along the same lines, former opposition deputy Eliseo Núñez interprets the extension as a strategic move to align Ortega and Murillo’s continued rule with the end of the Republican president’s term. In his view, the co-presidential regime seeks leverage for a potential negotiation with the international community over electoral conditions, while postponing any commitment until 2028. “That way, if they fail to comply, Trump will no longer be there to force them,” he says, referring to the threat posed by the Republican magnate’s administration after Nicolás Maduro’s capture.

The reform was ratified while the OAS has put on hold a consultative meeting of foreign ministers to address the situation in Nicaragua, which was convened following Ortega’s threats against the elections. The initiative was endorsed on August 19 by 29 countries on the Permanent Council. The United States had pressed for the meeting to be held before September 1, but the delegations have yet to agree on a date amid disagreements over what measures to take against Managua.

Brazil was the only country to vote against the meeting and Mexico abstained. After that vote, 11 Nicaraguan opposition and civil society organizations sent letters to both governments asking them for a more active stance. They asked Brazil to support “coordinated diplomatic and peaceful actions” to restore freedoms and create conditions for free, transparent, observed elections; they urged Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum to use Mexico’s “prestige and leadership” to help bring about a peaceful, orderly democratic transition.

If definitively approved during the second legislative session, the reform will elevate to constitutional status an electoral system that was already operating without effective competition. In 2021, the main opposition candidates were imprisoned before the election; now, the new text will codify the regime’s authority to decide who runs for office, who organizes politically, and who is excluded from the outset.

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