The Legislative Assembly of El Salvador approved on Thursday a constitutional reform that removes restrictions on the re-election of the president of the republic, extends his term of office and eliminates the need for a second round of elections if no candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the vote in the first round.
The current constitution of El Salvador prohibits the incumbent head of state or anyone who has held the highest office for more than six months from running for president. Moreover, it stipulates that anyone who in any way advocates the re-election of the president or the extension of his term of office shall be deprived of their civil rights.
Fifty-seven out of 60 members of the Legislative Assembly, all supporters of the current president Nayib Bukele, voted in favour of amending the country’s basic law. They also considered it necessary to extend the president’s term of office from five to six years.
Salvadoran parliamentarians also considered the second round of presidential elections unnecessary.
In their opinion, the new head of state should be the person who wins the majority of votes in the first and only round, even if less than 50 per cent of voters cast their ballots for them. As emphasised by the rapporteur for constitutional reform, MP Ana Figueroa, this should help save around $50 million in the budget.
The next presidential elections are proposed to be held in 2027, together with parliamentary and municipal elections. Thus, the presidential term of Bukele, who took office in June 2024, will be reduced from five to three years. However, he will be able to run for re-election.
At the same time, members of the Legislative Assembly want to remove articles linking El Salvador to the Central American Parliament from the constitution. Although no one is talking openly about leaving this union, amending this part of the constitution effectively opens up that possibility.
The Central American Parliament is a body responsible for political and democratic representation in the Central American integration system, which includes Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama and El Salvador.
