(CPOD) Feb. 12, 2004 – Nicaraguans overwhelmingly support their president’s plan to make sweeping changes to the country’s courts and tribunals, according to a poll by M & R. 87 per cent of respondents back the proposal tabled by Enrique Bolaños.
(CPOD) Feb. 12, 2004 – Nicaraguans overwhelmingly support their president’s plan to make sweeping changes to the country’s courts and tribunals, according to a poll by M & R. 87 per cent of respondents back the proposal tabled by Enrique Bolaños.
On Dec. 7, 2003, Nicaraguan justice Juana Méndez sentenced former president Arnoldo Alem¡n—who governed the country from 1997 to 2002—to 20 years in prison for fraud, money laundering and embezzlement. Méndez agreed to keep the former president under house arrest, and justified her decision on medical reasons. Alem¡n suffers from obesity and heart problems.
Last week, Bolaños presented a program to make profound changes to the country’s judiciary. The proposal aims to delineate specific administrative functions, and would prohibit justices from participating in “political acts.”
Another key provision would reduce the number of Supreme Court magistrates from 16 to five. Most of the current justices were appointed by either Alem¡n or former president Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
Polling Data
Do you support or oppose the proposal tabled by president Enrique Bolaños to reform the country’s judiciary?
Yes | 87% |
No | 10% |
Source: M & R
Methodology: Interviews to 800 Nicaraguan adults, conducted on Feb. 6 and Feb. 7, 2004. Margin of error is 2.8 per cent.
