The Organization of American States (OAS), a regional body of 35 member states in the Western Hemisphere, has voted 29 to 1 to convene an urgent meeting of foreign ministers over Nicaragua, declaring that representative democracy "no longer exists" in the country. The move follows constitutional reforms proposed by the co-presidency of Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo that would extend the presidential term from six to seven years, ban opposition figures deemed "traitors to the homeland" from standing in elections, and allow the dissolution of any party receiving foreign funding. The developments have drawn parallel condemnation from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, while critics note that Ortega has spent years jailing dissidents, shutting independent media, and in 2023 expelling more than 200 political prisoners and stripping them of citizenship — all of which he has defended as necessary to resist outside interference.