Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega is proposing a constitutional reform that would officially make him and his wife, current Vice President Rosario Murillo, “copresidents” of the Central American nation.

Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his wife are set to assume absolute power after loyalist lawmakers Friday approved a constitutional amendment elevating her to the position of "co-president" and boosting the pair's joint control over the state.

Legislators greenlight reforms giving more authority to Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, accused of stifling dissent.

Lawmakers in Nicaragua endorsed the constitutional reform which would expand presidential terms and promote Daniel Ortega's wife Rosario Murillo to a co-president.

(Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The proposals come amid an ongoing crackdown which escalated following mass protests that the government repressed.

Vice-President Rosario Murillo has become the face of the government as her husband rarely makes public appearances.

The reform, which 79-year-old Ortega sent to Congress on Tuesday "as a matter of urgency" was approved unanimously by 91 Nicaraguan lawmakers. (Reporting by Gabriela Selser; Writing by Sarah Morland;

The Nicaraguan parliament, dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front, on Friday approved a constitutional reform that hands more power to President Daniel Ortega as well as the Central American nation’s police and military.