Nicaragua: Orderly Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy
Proposal Summary
August 2026
This document summarizes the principal elements of the proposal “Nicaragua: Orderly Transition from Dictatorship to Democracy”, prepared by a group of Nicaraguan opposition groups and placed at the consideration of organizations, the Nicaraguan people, and the international community. The purpose of this summary, in question format about what the proposal is and what it is not, is to offer a clear and concise vision of the proposed roadmap, its organizational structure, stages, reforms, and mechanisms for leading the country toward free elections and the restoration of democracy. The summary seeks to facilitate understanding the proposal, highlighting its essential elements.
What the proposal is:
- What does the proposed transition consist in? An orderly transition is proposed, peaceful and without violence, aimed at dismantling authoritarian structures and reestablishing democracy in Nicaragua. The process seeks to simultaneously ensure political and social stability, economic continuity, legal security, respect for fundamental rights, and the submission of the armed forces to civil power.
- What rights and guarantees will be reestablished during the transition? The transition contemplates in general full respect for Human Rights, the rule of law, and freedoms for all Nicaraguan citizens. In particular, the freedom of political prisoners and the restitution of political, civil and patrimonial rights of the people affected by the dictatorship, including denationalized citizens. The safe return of those exiled will be guaranteed, and the restitution of confiscated or closed communications media, as well as the reestablishment of the freedom of expression, association and assembly. Measures of protection and reparation are also contemplated for the victims of human rights violations, and the recovery of assets and public spaces affected by the regime.
- What are the principal components of the transition? The process is structured around four principal components: a National Transition Junta or technical team with limited and temporary executive and legislative faculties; a National Constituent Assembly charged with preparing a new Constitution; legal and institutional reforms for dismantling authoritarian and repressive structures; and free, competitive, transparent, and observed general elections which allow for the transfer of power to democratically elected authorities.
- Who can be part of the National Transition Junta or technical team? Can people connected to the old regime participate? The Junta or technical team will be composed of a maximum of seven people of integrity with a vocation of service: with representatives of the democratic opposition both in Nicaragua as well as in exile and from different sectors of civil society. Nicaraguans will be able to participate who have had connections or performed functions within the old regime, as long as they have not been accused or convicted of common crimes nor been connected to human rights violations or affiliated with military, police or paramilitary bodies noted for crimes against humanity.
- What will be the first actions of the transition Junta or team? Among their first actions will be the immediate liberation of political prisoners, the reestablishment of freedoms and rights, the reorganization of electoral and judicial institutions and the dismantling of repressive structures. They must also purge and restructure the high command of the Army and Police, ensure macroeconomic stability, and adopt the necessary measures to ensure the stability and functioning of the State. During the first months the transition Junta or team will temporarily reorganize key institutions of the State, including the Judicial Branch, the Supreme Electoral Council, the Police, Army and municipal governments, and adopt the necessary legal reforms to create the conditions to consolidate the democratic transition. In a parallel fashion, they must ensure economic stability, the continuity of productive activities, and the preparation of the electoral process for the constituent assembly in an environment of the full enjoyment of rights and guarantees.
- What legal reforms will be necessary to dismantle the regime and ensure the transition? The transition Junta or team will promote a series of laws (there are more than 24 projected laws) aimed at repealing the repressive norms and reestablishing the Rule of Law. Among them are contemplated reforms of the Judicial Branch and the electoral system, restitution of political and property rights, recovery of assets and public goods, protection of victims, prevention of torture and forced disappearances, preservation of files of the repression, dismantling of the structures of repressive intelligence, guarantees for the safe return of exiles and the revocation of corrupt territorial concessions granted to Chinese partners of the regime.
- What will the legal framework be during the transition? The transition Junta or team will temporarily assume the functions of the head of State, head of Government, and Supreme chief of the Armed Forces, with limited executive and legislative functions. They will repeal the existing Constitution and establish a Statute of Nicaraguan Rights and Guarantees, while the Constituent National Assembly prepares and the people ratify a new Constitution.
- What will be the functions of the Constituent National Assembly? The Constituent Assembly, which will be elected by popular vote 180 days into the transition, will have as its principal function writing a new Constitution based on the principles of democracy, separation of powers, Rule of Law, and respect for human rights. It will be composed of 60 democratically elected members and must hold citizen, sectoral, and technical consultations before approving the new constitutional text.
- How will the new Constitution be approved? The Constituent Assembly will have a maximum term of nine months to prepare and approve the new Constitution. Once approved by the constituent assembly members, it must be submitted to a national referendum within the next 45 days, so that its application has the direct ratification of the citizenry.
- How will free and competitive elections be ensured? During the transition the electoral system will be rebuilt, including the restoration of the arbitrarily cancelled legal statuses, registration of new political organizations, updating and cleanup of the electoral rolls, provision of identity cards to all the citizens who have been denied them by the regime, and candidate registration. The elections must be held under the new Constitution, with the participation of all political sectors under equal conditions and with international electoral observation.
- How long will the transition last? The National Transition Junta or team will last a maximum of 24 months, without the possibility of extension. During this period, they must complete the institutional reforms, the constituent process, the constitutional referendum and the organization of general elections, which is scheduled for month 22, followed by the transfer of power on month 24.
- Will the members of the Junta or the Constituent Assembly be able to run in the first elections? The members of the transition Junta or team must renounce, from the moment of their incorporation, running for popularly elected positions in the immediate elections, whether they have completed their period or not. The members of the Constituent Assembly also will not be able to be candidates in the first free elections organized under the new Constitution and the new Electoral Law.
- What will be the role of the private sector in the transition? The private sector, small, medium and large enterprises, will be the principal economic motor and generator of the wealth of the country. Investment ownership rights will be ensured, eliminating harassment, extortion and fiscal repression in all its forms.
- What is the role of political parties in the transition? Quotas are not contemplated for political parties in the transition Junta or team, but the transition will offer the conditions so they can organize and strengthen themselves to compete for power in fair, free, competitive and observed elections.
- Why is a democratic transition process needed? Because the dictatorship dismantled all the democratic institutionality of the Nation. For years and through successive constitutional reforms it consolidated a totalitarian regime restrictive on matters of human rights, eliminating all civic spaces. The Chamuca Constitution[1] and its reforms constitute a tombstone on the democratic institutionality. Reestablishing that institutionality is essential.
- How will the issue of justice be addressed during the transition? The proposal poses a profound reform of the justice system, beginning with the temporary restructuring of the Judicial Branch and naming of new independent judicial authorities. The creation of a Truth Commission is contemplated, the preservation and declassification of files of the repression, measures to prevent torture and forced disappearances, and mechanisms to investigate human rights violations. At the same time, a Law against Impunity and Amnesties is proposed, as well as mechanisms to recover assets of illicit origin, ensuring that the transition combines truth, justice, guarantees of no-repetition and the rights of the victims and their families. The new Constitution will establish the entire legal framework of the new judicial branch of Nicaragua.
- What will happen with current public employees? The public employees who currently perform their functions and have not been accused of crimes, will fully retain their labor rights and will not be the object of persecution, discrimination or reprisals for political reasons. The transition will ensure the continuity of their jobs and respect for their salaries and the rest of their acquired rights, preventing any type of confiscation or imposition of a partisan nature. Changes and removals will be focused on leadership posts and functionaries who might be needed to dismantle authoritarian structures and ensure the democratic functioning of institutions.
What the proposal is not:
- Is it a closed proposal? It is a living document, open to the contributions of opposition organizations and other sectors of Nicaraguan society, and subject to adjustments as national and international circumstances evolve. Its purpose is to serve as a common basis for the discussion and construction of an agreed upon road map.
- Does it have an ideological or partisan slant? The proposal is not conceived as an ideological or partisan program, but a technical and political instrument for the restitution of rights, dismantling of authoritarian structures, and orderly transition to democracy. Its central principals are the recovery of freedoms, Rule of Law, separation of powers, and the celebration of free elections.
- Does it take the place of the action of the international community? International pressure and accompaniment are complementary and necessary elements to improve the environment which would allow the transition to be implemented. The proposal seeks to offer a national roadmap that can receive political, diplomatic and technical support from the international community. It implies an agreed upon plan for national and international mobilization to promote the fall of the regime.
- Is it a proposal for a new permanent government or for allocating political posts? The National Transition Junta or team is conceived as a temporary institution, with a specific mandate and not able to be extended beyond 24 months, whose function is to dismantle authoritarian structures, reestablish democratic institutions, and lead the country toward free elections. Its members, in addition, will not be able to run in the first elections, precisely to preserve the transitory and impartial nature of the transition Junta or team. Nor is it thought to be a government in exile.
[1] Literally “La Chamuca” or the Witch, a common slang term to refer to the Constitution resulting from the reform of February 2025 which created the co-presidency of Rosario Murillo.
