Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power since 2007, has proposed extending the presidential term by an additional year. This proposal is part of a broader constitutional reform expected to be approved by the government-controlled National Assembly in September 2026.

The reforms include measures to bar opposition members labeled as "traitors" or "coup plotters" from running for office. Ortega's 19-year rule has seen several changes to presidential terms: in 2014, the National Assembly removed presidential term limits, and in 2024, it extended the term length from five to six years.

Additionally, the legislative body approved Ortega's plan to name his wife, Rosario Murillo, as "co-president." This move paves the way for Murillo to assume the presidency should Ortega, who is believed to be in frail health, be declared "permanently absent."

Ortega, now 80 years old, has increasingly consolidated power, with political opponents jailed, exiled, or stripped of citizenship during his tenure.

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