Nicaraguan leaders try to defuse crisis

[bemildred]

Managua, Nicaragua - Sandinista opposition leader Daniel Ortega and ex-President Arnoldo Aleman agreed on Wednesday to support Nicaragua's right-wing President Enrique Bolanos to try and defuse a looming constitutional crisis.

The leftist Ortega signed a "governability agreement" with Bolanos pledging to recognise the validity of his government until the president's term ends in January 2007.


---

The agreement signed by Bolanos, Ortega and leaders of Aleman's party calls for consensus on the reforms before they can take effect. It also calls for professionalizing the judicial and electoral systems and strengthening health, education and labor rights.

IOL