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Nicaragua The Legislature
The 1987 constitution replaced the bicameral Congress,
which
had existed under previous constitutions, with a
unicameral
National Assembly. The makeup of the National Assembly,
first
established under the 1984 decree and confirmed by the
1987
constitution, consists of ninety members directly elected
by a
system of proportional representation plus any unelected
presidential or vice presidential candidates who receive a
certain percentage of the vote. In 1985 the National
Assembly had
ninety-six members and in 1990, ninety-two (see
table 9,
Appendix
A). Terms are for six years, to run concurrently with the
president's term.
The National Assembly has significant powers, and its
cooperation is essential for the smooth functioning of the
government. Under the constitution, representatives to the
National Assembly propose legislation, which is made law
by a
simple majority of the representatives present if the
National
Assembly has a quorum (a quorum is half the total number
of
representatives, plus one) The National Assembly can
override a
presidential veto by quorum. The constitution also gives
the
National Assembly the power "to consider, discuss and
approve"
the budget presented by president. The National Assembly
chooses
the seven members of the Supreme Court from lists provided
by the
president and has the authority to "officially interpret
the
laws," a prerogative that gives the National Assembly
judicial
powers.
The Chamorro administration has faced a legislature
that,
despite its division between the Sandinista members and
the
members of the UNO coalition, has proved a formidable
power in
its own right--and one with which the executive branch is
often
in conflict. In the 1990 elections, of the ninety-two
seats in
the National Assembly, the UNO won fifty-one and the FSLN
gained
thirty-nine. The FSLN won thirty-eight seats in assembly
races,
and President Ortega was given a seat under the provision
granting a seat to each losing presidential candidate who
earns a
certain percentage of the vote. Two other parties of the
ten on
the ballot gained single seats. One was won by the
Christian
Social Party (Partido Social Cristiano--PSC) in a
legislative
race; another was awarded to the losing presidential
candidate of
the Revolutionary Unity Movement (Movimiento de Unidad
Revolucionaria--MUR), a breakaway faction of the FSLN. The
only
significant brake on UNO's power was that its majority of
55
percent fell short of the 60 percent needed to amend the
Sandinista-approved constitution, a goal of some members
of the
UNO coalition. The slim UNO majority also presented
practical
problems for the UNO president because it was possible for
relatively few defections from the UNO coalition to
undermine the
UNO government's programs and initiatives.
Data as of December 1993
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