The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, was nominated this Sunday by his party Nuevas Ideas to run as a candidate for the Salvadoran presidential elections next year, leaving aside that the Constitution does not allow consecutive re-election. Nuevas Ideas affirmed that the current vice president, Félix Ulloa, will also run. The party confirmed on Twitter the president’s nomination for the future electoral period.
The Bukele government has become popular with Salvadorans due to its ‘war’ against street gangs and violence in the country. His fight and measures to eradicate violence have landed more than 66,000 people in jail for engaging in criminal activity. Bukele, who began his first term in 2019, announced last year his plans to be re-elected in the following elections. In 2021, the country’s highest court, whose members were nominated by a Congress controlled by Nuevas Ideas, established that Bukele could have a second term.
Some constitutional lawyers have warned that Bukele’s candidacy violates at least four articles of the Constitution, including article 154, which establishes: “The presidential term will be five years and will begin and end on June 1, without the person who has occupied the presidency can continue in his functions not one more day”. But Vice President Ulloa affirmed that Bukele only has to request a license from Congress before December 1, 2023 to be able to run again.
The court’s decision was criticized by human rights groups and the United States, which said that this decision is part of the decline of democracy in El Salvador. However, Bukele has the support of almost 80% of Salvadorans for the 2024 elections. The measures implemented against the illegal gangs established in the country have put an end to much of the criminal control in the Central American country.
Bukele, a 41-year-old businessman turned politician, took office in June 2019 after sweeping the presidential election and breaking 30 years of bipartisanship between the right-wing ARENA party and the left-wing FMLN, his former party. However, the Bukele government has obtained complaints from NGOs for alleged human rights violations and negotiations with criminals. However, the president has denied the accusations. Although government measures have been extreme, many communities that lived under extortion and constant violence have been able to return to normality.
The president responded to the opposition on Twitter, saying: “Today the biggest party in history spoke, and on February 4, 2024, the Salvadoran people will have the last word.” Both the current president and the vice president must register as candidates before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) to formalize their candidacy. Salvadorans will vote on February 4 of next year to elect president and vice president for the period 2024-2029 and legislators until 2027.
