El Salvador approves indefinite presidential re-election

The law amendment besides extends statesmanlike presumption from 5 years to six and scraps predetermination run-offs.

El Salvador’s ruling enactment has passed a measure to overhaul however elections are tally successful the Central American nation, opening the doorway for President Nayib Bukele to service different term.

On Thursday, 57 Congress members voted successful favour and 3 voted against a law amendment that volition let indefinite statesmanlike re-election, widen presumption from 5 years to six and scrap predetermination run-offs.

Bukele won a 2nd word past twelvemonth contempt a wide prohibition successful the country’s constitution. El Salvador’s apical court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled successful 2021 that it was the leader’s quality close to tally again.

After his re-election past year, Bukele told reporters helium “didn’t deliberation a law betterment would beryllium necessary”, but evaded questions connected whether helium would effort to tally for a 3rd term.

With Thursday’s law reforms, Bukele, who enjoys tremendous enactment astatine location for his heavy-handed run against transgression gangs, volition beryllium capable to tally again.

The overhaul volition besides shorten the president’s existent word to synchronise elections successful 2027, arsenic presidential, legislative and municipal elections are presently staggered.

“Thank you for making history, chap deputies,” said Ernesto Castro, the president of the Legislative Assembly from the ruling New Ideas party, aft counting the votes connected Thursday.

‘Democracy has died’

Speaking during the parliamentary session, absorption lawmaker Marcela Villatoro from the Republican National Alliance (ARENA) criticised the connection being brought to parliament arsenic the state begins a week of summertime holidays and said “democracy has died successful El Salvador”.

Opposition person Claudia Ortiz from the Vamos enactment slammed the betterment arsenic “an maltreatment of powerfulness and a caricature of democracy”.

The law betterment has besides drawn crisp disapproval from international rights groups.

“The reforms pb to a full imbalance successful the ideology that nary longer exists,” Miguel Montenegro, manager of NGO the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, told the AFP quality agency.

“The time earlier vacation, without debate, without informing the public, successful a azygous legislative vote, they changed the governmental strategy to let the president to perpetuate himself successful powerfulness indefinitely, and we proceed to travel the well-travelled way of autocrats,” Noah Bullock, enforcement manager of rights radical Cristosal, told the Reuters quality agency.

The radical precocious near El Salvador, declaring itself successful exile owed to Bukele’s thrust to consolidate his grip connected powerfulness and ace down connected critics and humanitarian organisations.