El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly approved a constitutional reform this Thursday to allow for the indefinite reelection of the head of state and extend the presidential term to six years from the current five, thanks to the votes of Nuevas Ideas, the party of President Nayib Bukele, and his two partners.
“The important thing is to give full power to the Salvadoran people. Historically, reelection has always existed in El Salvador for almost all elected positions without restrictions. Mayors can be reelected as many times as they want, as can representatives, but there is a very important key here, and that is the support of the people,” argued ruling party representative Ana Figueroa, who is requesting reforms to Articles 75, 80, 133, 152, and 154 of the Constitution, in a statement reported by the Salvadoran newspaper ‘El Mundo’.
With the support of 57 of the 60 deputies that make up Parliament, only six of whom do not belong to the president’s party, the Salvadoran chamber has given the green light to the necessary procedures to definitively eliminate the ban on immediate indefinite presidential reelection and modify the length of the presidential term. Thus, although Bukele’s term would extend until 2029, he could run if he so desired in 2027 by matching the presidential, legislative, and municipal elections.
Furthermore, the approved reform package eliminates the mandatory second round of elections when no political party or coalition obtains an absolute majority.
The two opposition parties, the Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) and Vamos, have expressed opposition to the reform. Among them, Representative Marcela Villatoro (ARENA) has denounced that “today democracy has died in El Salvador,” emphasizing that the package of measures has been “approved without consultation, in a crude and cynical manner.” “The masks have been removed,” he said of the governing coalition.
The decision now awaits ratification by the same chamber, which will also consider and presumably approve the 41st extension of the state of emergency, a state of emergency in place since March 2022. At the beginning of last June, Bukele himself stated in this regard that “I don’t care if they call me a dictator.” The president then declared that “democracy, institutionality, transparency, human rights, and the rule of law sound good (…) but they are terms that are only used to keep us subservient.”
