Nicaragua is a constitutional democracy with executive, legislative, judicial, and electoral branches of government. The President of Nicaragua is both head of state and head of government.

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, in 2008

Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the National Assembly.

The judiciary and electoral powers are independent of the executive and the legislature. The magistrates of both the Supreme Court (CSJ) and the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) are appointed by the President and ratified by the National Assembly.

Between 2007–2009, Nicaragua’s major political parties discussed the possibility of going from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. Their reason: there would be a clear differentiation between the head of government (Prime Minister) and the head of state (President).

It was later known the true reason behind this proposal was to find a legal way for current President Ortega to stay in power after January 2012 (this is when his second and last government period ends).