In a nearly hour-long speech on February 9, Daniel Ortega, after have released and exiled 222 political prisoners When he greeted the members of his cabinet, he paused and said: “Here is compañera Rosario Murillo, co-president of the republic. In truth, that’s how she is. She is co-president of the republic! In the Constitution we will have to make some reforms. Doctor (Gustavo) Porras, we will have to make some reforms so that the principle of co-presidency is established”.
Gustavo Porraspresident of the National Assembly and sanctioned by the United States for his role in human rights violations during the 2018 repression, solicitously responded with a military salute, saying: “Of course, commander!
However, this Ortega’s political whim it implies abysmal reforms to the system of Government established in Nicaragua through its Political Constitution.
Co-presidency transforms Nicaraguan political system
These are such extensive changes that, according to experts consulted by CONFIDENTIALwould imply the elaboration of a new Political Constitution through a Constituent Assembly and the holding of a plebiscite to consult the support for this measure that may exist among Nicaraguans.
Article 144 and 145 of the Constitution define the functions of the president and vice-president, positions exercised by Ortega and Murillo as a couple of family power thanks to the electoral fraud.
To impose the figure of co-presidency, the main obstacle is that the Government cannot be exercised by two presidential figures with identical functions and responsibilities, because it represents a bottleneck that would not allow an effective public administration.
Who is the head of government, who is the commander of the armed forces?
“A figure of co-presidency is not legally appropriate since both have the same conditions, faculties and would be heads of State and Government at the same time. This is a thin red line that would establish that there is not a single line of command and on the other hand, it leaves open the possibility of clashes and contradictions, ”explained a lawyer, who asked that his identity be kept to avoid reprisals from the dictatorship. .
Article 144 of the Constitution establishes that the Executive Power is exercised by the President of the Republic, as head of State, Government and the Nicaraguan Army.
For its part, article 145 establishes that the vice president of the republic performs the functions determined by the Political Constitution and those delegated by the president of the republic directly or through a law. Likewise, the vice president will replace the president in office, in cases of temporary or permanent absence.
“It is a substantial transformation of the political system in Nicaragua. The government regime would go from being presidential to a co-presidential one. In other words, what powers will the so-called co-chairs have? Who is the head of state? Who is in the line of succession? Would the figure of the vice presidency be eliminated? It has enormous political consequences in the life of Nicaragua. I don’t know of any similar precedent. If this political and legal aberration is made, it would be the first case in the history of the region, ”he added.
It cannot be established with a partial reform of the Constitution
A specialist in legal issues who also asked for her identity to be protected, insisted that the lack of legitimacy of the Ortega and Murillo as governors and of the deputies of the National Assembly, has the consequence that reforms as considerable as establishing the figure of the co-presidency do not have legal validity, even if it is through a Constituent Assembly.
In addition, he stressed that changing a government system in a country must imply consultation of citizens through a plebiscite, a democratic process that goes against the Ortega and Murillo way of doing politics.
“In no way can establishing the co-presidency be done through partial reforms to the Political Constitution. If we were in a rule of law, the constitutional way to change the Nicaraguan government system would be a Constituent Assembly or alternatively a plebiscite or referendum to consult the sovereign, which is the people”, he affirmed.
“Within this dynastic dictatorial tangle, it is not worth asking what would be the procedure to comply with the order to create a co-presidency. It is not enough for Ortega to give the order. We must be clear that the actions of the Ortega and Murillo regime are focused on consolidating a dynastic authoritarian model that transgresses the constitutional regulatory framework”, he highlighted.
A momentous decision
It is not the first time that Ortega alludes to the fact that the current government system in Nicaragua is a co-presidency that he exercises together with his wife. However, it was not until that speech on February 9, 2023 that the dictator directly ordered one of his main political operators to carry out the necessary steps to establish a system of co-presidency in Nicaragua.
“It is too transcendental a decision for it to be taken by two people, because the deputies are clear that they are not going to decide anything. They are simply going to carry out what their political superiors order. It is as if Nicaragua were an absolutist monarchy,” said the lawyer.
“Whether via the Constituent Assembly or through a severe constitutional reform, what must be done is that the sovereign should be consulted, in this case, the people of Nicaragua through a plebiscite. However, due to the institutional conditions that exist, it is not possible for citizens to be able to vote freely and for that vote to be respected. So, we are talking about an unconsulted process defined by two people, ”he added.
Co-governments in the world define functions
The figure of two people in command of the Government that exist in other countries delimit the responsibilities of each one of those who exercise these functions. There are cases like Germany, where the main responsibilities as head of state are exercised by the chancellor, and then there is the federal president, who has other certain government functions.
There are also examples like Spaina constitutionalist monarchy where the kings are the heads of state, but the head of government is chosen through a voting process.
However, despite the complexity of reforming the Nicaraguan political system, the lack of a balance of powers under the Ortega-Murillo regime It could allow establishing the figure of co-presidency in Nicaragua, even without having to make substantial reforms to the Constitution or through a Constituent Assembly.
“The deputies are not elected by the people in free elections, but appointed by the dictator and although sometimes they pretend to appear legal procedural legislation, what we really see are servants who carry out the dictator’s orders,” said the subject specialist. legal.
“The actions of the Ortega-Murillo regime openly violate the current constitutional framework. And it is in this context that Ortega’s statements in which he requests, or rather orders, a reform to create a co-presidency must be analyzed as a dictatorial act that comes from someone who is usurping power and exercising it illegitimately,” he added. .
He recalled that in Colombia and in Argentina there have been periods of co-government, but in which the exercise of presidential powers was shared in institutional regimes and under democratic political systems.
“The closest thing that could have existed in Nicaragua are the Government Juntas, like the one that existed at the beginning of the 1980s, in which, despite the fact that there was a president, it was the national leadership of a political party that governed and he had absolute power. Also (Anastasio) Somoza (Debayle) after the 1972 earthquake, who governed with a National Government Junta, under the figure of the triumvirate, ”he recalled.
