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Nicaraguan
Government
Government and
Political Conditions
Facts
=Country name: Republic of Nicaragua or
simply Nicaragua
=Data code: NU
=Government type: republic
=Capital: Managua
=Administrative divisions: 15
departments, 2 autonomous regions
=Independence: 15 September 1821 (from
Spain)
=National holiday: Independence Day, 15
September (1821)
=Constitution: 9 January 1987
=Legal system: civil law system;
Supreme Court may review administrative acts
=Suffrage: 16 years of age; universal
=Legislative branch: unicameral
National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are
elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
=Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte
Suprema), 12 judges elected for seven-year terms by the National
Assembly
=International organization
participation: BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL,
OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU
=Flag description: The flag is made up
of three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with
the national coat of arms centered in the white band
About Government and political conditions
Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with executive, legislative,
judicial, and electoral branches of government. In the year of 1995,
the executive and legislative branches negotiated a reform of the
1987 Sandinista constitution, which gave extensive new powers and
independence to the legislature (the National Assembly). In these
new attributes, the legislature had also the power to permit the
Assembly to override a presidential veto with a simple majority vote
and eliminating the president's ability to pocket veto a bill.
The president and the members of the unicameral National Assembly
are elected to concurrent five-year terms. The National Assembly
consists of 92 total deputies.
The Supreme Court supervises the functioning of the still largely
ineffective judicial system. In 2000, as part of the PLC-FSLN pact,
the number or Supreme Court justice was increased from 12 to 16. The
National Assembly elects Supreme Court justices to five-year terms.
Led by a council of seven magistrates, the Supreme Electoral Council
(CSE) is the co-equal branch of government responsible for
organizing and conducting elections, plebiscites, and referendums.
The National Assembly elects the magistrates and their alternates to
5-year terms.
Constitutional changes in 2000 expanded the
number of CSE magistrates from five to seven and gave the PLC and
the FSLN a freer hand to name party activists to the Council,
prompting allegations that both parties were politicizing electoral
institutions and processes and excluding smaller political parties.
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