An opposition lawmaker in El Salvador filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court on Friday challenging the constitutionality of indefinite presidential re-election, recently approved by Congress to allow President Nayib Bukele to remain in power.
In a fast-track process, the Legislative Assembly, dominated by the ruling party, approved a constitutional reform on July 31 that allows indefinite presidential re-election and extends the presidential term from five to six years.
“We have come to present a lawsuit challenging the reforms made last week to the Constitution of the Republic,” lawmaker Claudia Ortiz, of the right-wing Vamos party, told reporters. “Obviously, enabling indefinite presidential re-election violates one of the most important principles of the Constitution, which is that there must be alternation in the exercise of power,” Ortiz said.
The 60-member Congress, which includes only three opposition lawmakers, also synchronized presidential, legislative, and municipal elections, and eliminated the second electoral round. Ortiz explained that her petition, filed with the Constitutional Chamber of the Court, seeks to specifically challenge indefinite presidential re-election.
The Constitutional Chamber must review the lawsuit to decide whether it meets the requirements to be admitted for debate. Human rights organizations have denounced indefinite presidential re-election as a “blow” and a “final nail in the coffin” for democracy in the country, a claim Bukele denies.
On Friday, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), a body of the Organization of American States (OAS), warned that allowing indefinite presidential re-election “represents a serious setback for democracy and the rule of law” in El Salvador.
“The IACHR urges reconsideration of the reform that allows indefinite re-election or prolonged permanence of the same person in the Executive branch,” the Washington-based Commission said in a statement.
Bukele, in power since 2019, remains highly popular for his “war” against gangs, which has brought violence in the country down to historic lows. However, his security policy is based on a state of emergency criticized by human rights groups.
Bukele’s re-election in 2024 had already been questioned because, despite being constitutionally prohibited, it was allowed through a ruling by allied judges.
