Nicaragua’s 25 opposition lawmakers walked out on the National Assembly today after failing to stop the Sandinista supermajority from steamrolling their new constitution into law, clearing the way for President Daniel Ortega’s indefinite reelection.
The Sandinista reforms were passed today in the second round of voting, with 64 “yeas” and 25 “nays.” The voting was along strict party lines, with Sandinista remora Wilfredo Navarro backing the president’s plan.
The two dozen opposition lawmakers belonging to the minority Independent Liberal Party Alliance (BAPLI) abandoned the legislative chamber after casting their protest vote. The opposition claims the new Sandinista reforms were passed without any meaningful consultation of the public, and will serve only to weaken Nicaragua’s democracy and strengthen Ortega’s grip on power.
Opposition congresswoman María Eugenia Sequeira, second vice-president of the National Assembly, said the people of Nicaragua “gain nothing” from the new constitution because it will not improve unemployment, education, healthcare or housing problems. Instead, the congresswoman says, the Sandinista constitution focuses primarily on foisting its partisan ideology upon the rest of the country.
“What do the Nicaraguan people gain from the indefinite reelection of the president, when we already know from past experiences the consequences that brings?” Sequiera demanded.
Sandinista lawmakers today approved in line-item vote 26 of the 51 articles of the new constitution. The rest are scheduled to be rubber-stamped Wednesday morning, without the participation of the opposition.
“We don’t need, and never will need, a Somoza or an Ortega perpetuating himself in power forever,” echoed opposition lawmaker Alberto Lacayo.
Read our previous articles on Nicaragua’s new constitution:
Sandinistas Aim to Change Nicaragua’s Political System
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