Nicaragua's Ortega says nothing can stop him seeking another term

Managua, Oct 21 (EFE).- President Daniel Ortega said that the ruling by the constitutional chamber of the Supreme Court eliminating the legal obstacle to his running for reelection in November 2011 "is written in stone and is unappealable."

"That ruling from yesterday (Monday) already was acknowledged by the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) and therefore it's unappealable and this is important for the oligarchies and sellouts to keep clear" in their minds, said Ortega in a speech at the old Presidential Residence.

The high court's Constitutional Chamber declared "inapplicable" the constitutional article that places term limits on the president, vice president and mayors while exempting most other elected officials.

Although it was initially reported that the ruling had to be confirmed by the full 15-member court, Deputy Chief Justice Rafael Solis - a member of Ortega's Sandinista Party - said Tuesday that "the ruling is an unappealable judgment, it's been ruled upon."

But Chief Justice Manuel Martinez, allied with the main opposition Liberals, told reporters that the ruling was invalid on procedural grounds.

Complaining of an "ambush," he said the three Liberal members of the Constitutional Chamber were not notified in time to attend the session and that their places were filled by three Sandinista substitutes.

In his first remarks after the ruling, Ortega attacked those who oppose the ruling, calling them "waste materials of the oligarchy."

He alluded to former President Arnoldo Aleman and current Liberal leader Eduardo Montealegre, who on Tuesday joined in rejecting the ruling, hurling epithets at them and declaring that "both should be in jail."

The president asked opposition leaders to "calm down and don't drown in a glass of water" and to wait for the November 2011 elections so that the people can decide with their votes.

"If we (the Sandinistas) are as bad as they say, then what are they worried about? What's to be scared of, if the votes are there for that?" Ortega insisted.

This week's ruling affects Article 147 of the Nicaraguan Constitution, which bars re-election of a sitting president or vice president and limits a head of state to a total of two terms.

Ortega, who began his second presidential term on Jan. 10, 2007, and is due to step down in January 2011, has been unable to obtain the 56 votes needed to allow a constitutional reform in Congress.

In the face of that obstacle, Ortega decided to pursue a judicial remedy by filing a motion before the CSE, which in turn referred the matter to the Supreme Court.

Ortega previously governed Nicaragua from 1979-1990, initially as leader of the Sandinista movement that toppled U.S.-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza and subsequently as the country's elected president.