El Salvador: Top Court Opens the Way for Bukele’s Reelection

El Salvador's Supreme Court (CSJ) reversed a 2014 ruling that banned presidential re-election, thus opening the way for President Nayib Bukele's second term in office in 2024. 

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The ruling specified that incumbent presidents might only compete in the electoral race if they have not occupied the presidential position immediately before their election.

Since Bukele did not hold office in the 2014-2019 period, he is now eligible for re-election for the 2024-2029 term.

On Saturday, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) ratified the CSJ's decision while adding that such rulings are "unappealable and mandatory." 

The ruling New Idea (NI) party controls the Legislative Assembly, whose members dismissed five judges of the CSJ in May and elected the new judges who lifted the ban on presidential re-election in the next ten years after leaving office.

The magistrates also pointed out that the president who runs for a second term must request a " six-month leave of absence" to participate in the electoral campaign. 

Promoting a program steering clear from traditional parties in security, economy, and social reforms, Bukele won the presidential election's first round in 2019.