(Reuters) – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
The reform also seeks to increase the presidential term from five to six years and formally change the role of vice president, held by Ortega’s wife Rosario Murillo, to that of “co-president.”
The proposal also looks to expand state control over media outlets in order to “prevent them from being subjected to foreign interests.”
The proposal was sent to the government-controlled National Assembly on Tuesday and is expected to be debated and approved quickly.
Since 2018, the government of Ortega has led a crackdown on political opponents, jailing critics and leading to backlash and sanctions from the international community, including the United States and Europe.
(Reporting by Gabriela Selser, writing by Ana Isabel Martinez and Cassandra Garrison; editing by Stephen Eisenhammer)
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