On February 18, 2025, new reforms to the Political Constitution of Nicaragua, Law No. 1234, entered into effect. The reforms, approved by the National Assembly on November 22, 2024, include the establishment of a co-presidency, an extension of the presidential term, and the centralization of the state’s powers, among other provisions.
Restructuring the State and Government
The new constitution states that Nicaragua is a “revolutionary, free, sovereign and independent state.” (Art. 6.) Additionally, the state is now based on the principles of Christianity and socialism. (Art. 3.)
Under the reforms, state power is now centralized in the presidency, which will “coordinate the congress, judiciary, electoral body, public administration and inspection institutions and autonomous entities.” (Art. 8.) The presidency is now a co-presidency, held by a man and a woman who will be elected for six-year terms. (Arts. 133, 135.) In the absence of one co-president, the other will finish the absent co-president’s elected term. (Art. 136.) The co-presidents have the authority to appoint vice presidents. (Art. 138.)
The reforms call for the National Assembly to be comprised of congressmen elected by vote, plus the former co-presidents from the immediately previous term and the candidates for the co-presidency that participated in the corresponding election and finished in second place. These seats will also be appointed for six-year terms. (Art. 144.)
The judiciary is now a unitary system structured under the Supreme Court of Justice. Under the reforms, the National Assembly elects 10 magistrates to serve on the Supreme Court. A president and vice-president of the court are to serve for a period of six years. (Art. 155.)
The presidency now supervises the electoral office and appoints a president and vice-president of the office for six-year terms. (Art. 159, 160.)
The new reforms also create four constitutional laws (Art. 184):
- The Electoral Law regulates the election of the president and vice president of the republic, representatives of the National Assembly and the Central American Parliament, members of the councils of the autonomous regions of the Caribbean Coast, mayors and deputy mayors, and members of the municipal councils.
- The Emergency Law regulates the president’s extraordinary powers, such as declaring emergencies and suspending constitutional guarantees.
- The Constitutional Justice Law regulates the application of writs of habeas corpus, habeas data, and amparo, as well as the unconstitutionality of norms and constitutional conflicts among state powers.
- The Statute of Autonomy of the Caribbean Coast Regions of Nicaragua establishes the autonomy regime of the Caribbean Coast communities and recognizes their rights and obligations.
Freedom of Expression, Press, and Religion
The new Nicaraguan Constitution restructures the following rights:
- freedom of expression, limiting it to the principles of security, peace, and wellness (art. 27);
- freedom of the press, declaring that the state will oversee the media to avoid foreign intervention or fake news that violates the rights of the people (art. 68); and
- freedom of religion, establishing the separation of the state and churches and pronouncing a secular state, while also establishing the new constitution based on the principles of Christianity (arts. 3, 14).
Gender and Indigenous Peoples
The reforms include several provisions on the rights of women and indigenous peoples, indicating the standing of women in Nicaraguan society. The exercise of women’s rights is based in “equity” rather than “equality.” The reforms mention equality for women only as it relates to exercising political rights. (Art. 5, 48.)
The new constitution acknowledges the existence of original peoples and an Afro-descendent population. It establishes as official languages Spanish, English Creole, Miskitu, Mayangna, Ulwa, Garifuna, and Rama. (Arts. 9, 11.)
The national territory is now divided into departments, autonomous regions of the Caribbean Coast, special regimens of development, and municipalities. For the “rational exploitation of natural resources,” the government will request and consider the opinion of municipal governments before authorizing any contract. (Arts. 175, 177.)
The new reforms establish the rights of the communities of the Caribbean Coast to live under their own forms of political-administrative, social, and cultural organization. (Art. 180.) However, the members of the autonomous regional councils will be elected by universal suffrage according to Nicaraguan laws, including the new constitutional Statute of Autonomy of the Caribbean Coast Regions of Nicaragua. (Art. 181.)
Reactions
The reforms received much criticism from the international and civil society communities.
The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights expressed concern for the centralization of power in the presidency, suggesting it establishes a model of “Direct Democracy” and eliminates the separation of powers and the independence of the Supreme Court. The group also voiced worries about the formation of a new security force, which it said could be used to repress freedoms of expression, demonstration, and association.
The U.N. Group of Human Rights on Nicaragua expressed “profound concerns” that the new reforms grant the government of President Daniel Ortega “virtually unlimited power over the nation’s people” by establishing the co-presidency, extending the presidential term to six years, and eliminating the ban on censorship of the press.
Civil society groups expressed concern over the elimination of the following: restrictions of filiation for public offices, the prohibition of torture, and the minimal guarantees for political prisoners.
Prepared by Adriana Domingo Cabrera, Law Library Legal Research Fellow, under the supervision of Hanibal Goitom, Chief, Foreign, Comparative, and International Law Division I
Law Library of Congress, July 2, 2025
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