El Salvador removes President’s term limits, extends tenure to six years

El Salvador’s National Assembly has approved sweeping constitutional reforms.

The changes remove presidential term limits and extend the length of a presidential term from five to six years.

This allows President Nayib Bukele to seek re-election indefinitely.

The vote passed on Thursday with 57 lawmakers in favor and only three opposed.

Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party, which holds a supermajority in the legislature, led the move.

Bukele was first elected in 2019. In 2024, he ran for a second term, despite legal concerns that the Constitution barred consecutive terms.

After allies in the legislature replaced top judges on the Supreme Court, the court reinterpreted the Constitution to permit Bukele’s re-election.

Since taking office, the 44-year-old president has tightened his grip on power. He has led an aggressive anti-gang campaign, arresting tens of thousands in mass crackdowns.

Under his leadership, killings and extortion by gangs have dropped sharply.

But human rights defenders say civil liberties have worsened.

In June, Bukele defended his approach, saying, “I’d rather be called a dictator than let criminals keep operating with impunity.”

He has also aligned himself closely with former US President Donald Trump.

As part of their cooperation, Bukele has “imprisoned immigrants expelled from the United States,” in return for the US deporting MS-13 members back to El Salvador.

The constitutional amendments affect five articles.

They also synchronize presidential, legislative, and municipal elections.

Ana Figueroa, a Nuevas Ideas lawmaker who proposed the reforms, said the goal was to align election cycles.

She noted, “Legislators and local officials, like mayors, do not have term limits.” Bukele’s current term is scheduled to end in 2029.

However, Figueroa said it should conclude in 2027 to coincide with legislative elections.

At that point, Bukele could run again—this time for a six-year term.

(New York Times)

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