Nicaragua's Ortega expands power as reforms win final approval

FILE PHOTO: Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega looks on as he attends a meeting of leaders of the member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America and the Treaty of Commerce and Promotion (ALBA-TCP), in Caracas, Venezuela December 14, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Phto

(Reuters) -Constitutional reforms proposed by Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega to further consolidate power by extending his control over other parts of government won final approval on Thursday, after a unanimous vote.

The reforms have been defended by government allies as deepening a nearly 50-year-old revolution, but blasted by critics as a power grab from an increasingly dictatorial family dynasty.