Enlarge imageBy Frank Jack Daniel
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (Reuters) - A battle for power that could bring down Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos is threatening democracy in the Central American nation, the Organisation of American States said on Friday.
The Nicaraguan Congress is to vote on Tuesday on whether to strip government officials, including Bolanos, of criminal immunity for alleged electoral campaign funding abuses.
If Bolanos loses his immunity, he could be prosecuted. If found guilty, he would be forced to resign.
"The escalation of the institutional and political crisis in Nicaragua threatens the country’s democratic governance, the legitimate exercise of power, and the rule of law," the OAS said in a strongly worded statement.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
The hemispheric group called for dialogue and respect for the mandate of Bolanos and warned the parties involved to cease "any action that could aggravate the political crisis."
Former President Daniel Ortega, who led Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolutionary government in the 1980s, said his party had not yet decided whether to vote in favour of taking away Bolanos’ immunity.
"We are going to wait for the moment of the debate, and we’ll make the decision," Ortega told reporters.
Nicaragua has been engulfed by a political storm since an alliance of left- and right-wing parties opposed to Bolanos passed reforms allowing Congress to veto officials, including ministers, chosen by the president.
The government has refused to recognise the reforms, saying they weaken the president too much.
The United States, which sent newly named Ambassador Paul Trivelli to Nicaragua on Friday, is openly critical of Ortega, who fought against U.S.-backed Contra rebels in a 1980s civil war.
Answering reporters’ questions soon after arriving in Nicaragua, Trivelli said Ortega’s democratic credentials were ’very dubious.’
