SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -El Salvador's ruling party on Thursday passed a bill to overhaul how elections are run in the Central American nation, opening the door for President Nayib Bukele to serve another term.
Bukele won a second term last year despite a clear prohibition in the country's constitution. El Salvador's top court, filled with Bukele-backed judges, ruled in 2021 that it was the leader's human right to run again.
The constitutional amendment passed on Thursday by Bukele's New Ideas party,
which dominates Congress, will allow indefinite presidential re-election, extend terms from five years to six and scrap run-offs.
After his re-election last year, Bukele told reporters he "didn't think a constitutional reform would be necessary," but evaded questions on whether he would try to run for a third term.
The bill passed 57-3 as Congress prepares to break for recess.
The overhaul will also shorten the president's current term to synchronize elections in 2027, as presidential, legislative and municipal elections are currently staggered.
Consolidating the voting schedule would likely favor the ruling party across the board.
"This is quite simple, El Salvador: only you will have the power to decide how long you wish to support the work of any public official, including your president," said lawmaker Ana Figueroa, a New Ideas member who proposed the bill for the constitutional changes. "You have the power to decide how long you support your president and all elected officials."
The few non-ruling party lawmakers in Congress opposed the proposal over concerns it will entrench one-party rule in the country.
"Today, democracy has died in El Salvador," said legislator Marcela Villatoro of the opposition Republican National Alliance (ARENA).
Bukele remains one of the most popular leaders in the region, largely due to his across-the-board crackdown on gangs that has caused homicides to plummet, despite an outcry from human rights groups, which say innocent people have been caught up in the dragnet.
"The day before vacation, without debate, without informing the public, in a single legislative vote, they changed the political system to allow the president to perpetuate himself in power indefinitely and we continue to follow the well-traveled path of autocrats," said Noah Bullock, executive director of rights group Cristosal.
The group recently left El Salvador, declaring itself in exile due to Bukele's drive to consolidate his grip on power and crack down on critics and humanitarian organizations.
(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Additional reporting by Sarah Kinosian; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Natalia Siniawski and Christian Schmollinger)
