Nicaragua: Ortega Officializes Co-Presidency & Paramilitary
Dictatorship orders the reform of over one hundred articles of the Nicaraguan Constitution, including extending the presidential term to six years.
HAVANA TIMES – The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will formalize the figure of “co-presidency” and voluntary police —commonly known as “paramilitaries”— through a partial reform of Nicaragua’s Constitution.
This will be the twelfth time Ortega has reformed the Constitution since taking power in 2007. This time, the dictator has ordered the reform of over one hundred articles.
Article 133 states that “the Presidency of the Republic is composed of co-presidents elected through universal, equal, direct, free, and secret suffrage, with those obtaining the relative majority of votes being elected.”
Meanwhile, Article 135 indicates that “the co-presidents will serve their functions for a term of six years, starting from their inauguration. During this term, they will enjoy immunity in accordance with the law.”
All State Power
Furthermore, Ortega and Murillo will grant themselves full control over all other branches of government. “The Presidency of the Republic exercises the head of both the State and Government,” states Article 129 of the constitutional reform.
It adds that “power resides in the people and is exercised through direct democracy and the protagonism of the individual, the family, and the community.”
Article 129 of the current “Supreme Law” stipulates that “the Legislative, Executive, Judicial, and Electoral powers are independent of each other and harmoniously coordinated, subordinated only to the supreme interests of the nation and what is established in this Constitution.”
In the new Constitution, the dictators grant themselves the authority to dismiss any public official, whether elected or not, something they have been doing without the “legal” backing.
Article 130 states that “public officials, whether elected directly or indirectly or appointed by the Presidency, must comply with, preserve, and defend the fundamental principles of the Constitution. Failure to do so constitutes immediate and sufficient grounds for their removal.”
“Paramilitaries” and the FSLN Flag
Through Article 97, the “Voluntary Police” is created as an auxiliary body to support the National Police, composed of Nicaraguan citizens who serve on a voluntary basis.
Article 13 includes the official red-and-black flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) as a national symbol.
The article states: “The national symbols are: the National Anthem, the anti-imperialist struggle flags of General Augusto C. Sandino and the Sandinista Popular Revolution, the blue and white flags, the red-and-black flag, and the national coat of arms.”