In 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that the incumbent president was eligible to run for re-election immediately, overturning a 2014 ruling that held that immediate re-election was unconstitutional. The following year, Bukele announced his intention to run for re-election in the 2024 presidential election.[2]:357 Opposition politicians criticized the ruling and Bukele's seeking re-election as unconstitutional.[9][10] Bukele won re-election with almost 85 percent of the vote[11] in a landslide victory[12][13] and his second term began on 1 June 2024. Nuevas Ideas won 54 of the Legislative Assembly's 60 seats in concurrent legislative elections.[2]:360
On 31 July 2025, the Legislative Assembly voted to approve several amendments to the constitution of El Salvador. Among the amendments included the abolish presidential term limits and the increase of presidential term lengths from 5 to 6 years.[14] The Legislative Assembly also voted to abolish the two-round system in favor of first-past-the-post[15] and moved the date of the next presidential election from 2029 to 2027, bringing the presidential election cycle in line with the three-year legislative and municipal election cycle. The latter reform will end Bukele's second term on 1 June 2027, two years ahead of the original date of 1 June 2029.[16] Another amendment enabled the sitting president to seek re-election without needing to take a leave of absence six months before the next presidential term begins. In total, five articles of the constitution were amended or eliminated.[17]
The vote was split along partisan lines: Bukele's 57 allies voted in favor of the constitutional reforms and the 3 members of the opposition voted against them.[14][18] Ana Figueroa, who proposed the reforms, argued that term limits historically were allowed for most elected offices without restrictions with the only exception being the presidency and that Salvadorans have a right to determine how long elected officials should remain in office.[19]Suecy Callejas, the vice president of the Legislative Assembly, stated that "power has returned to the only place that it truly belongs [...] to the Salvadoran people".[16] Marcela Villatoro, a deputy of the opposition Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA), remarked that "today, democracy has died in El Salvador".[14]Claudia Ortiz, a deputy of Vamos, described the reforms as "an abuse of power and a caricature of democracy".[15] Carlos García Saade and Manuel Flores, the leaders of ARENA and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), respectively, both criticized the reforms.[20][21] Meanwhile, Xavier Zablah Bukele, the leader of Nuevas Ideas, supported Bukele remaining in office for a third term.[22] Juanita Goebertus, the director of Human Rights Watch's Americas division, warned that El Salvador "is following the same path as Venezuela" ("está recorriendo el mismo camino que Venezuela").[23]
Avatar of Nayib Bukele
Nayib Bukele
@nayibbukele
English: 90% of developed countries allow the indefinite reelection of their head of government, and no one bats an eye. But when a small, poor country like El Salvador tries to do the same, suddenly it’s the end of democracy. [...]
On 2 August 2025, Bukele posted on X accusing critics of holding a "double standard" and arguing that indefinite re-election should be allowed in El Salvador as it is allowed for the heads of government of "90% of developed countries".[25][26] The United States Department of State backed the constitutional reforms, remarking in a statement that "it is up to them to decide how their country should be governed".[27]
On 8 August 2025, Ortiz filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Justice to declare the constitutional amendments that increased presidential term lengths and abolished term limits to be unconstitutional.[28] Villatoro criticized the lawsuit, arguing that it "would ultimately endorse" ("terminarían de avalar") the reforms as the same Supreme Court justices enabled Bukele's first re-election.[29]
Electoral system
Election procedure
A presidential election was initially scheduled to be held in 2029, five years after the 2024 presidential election, but the Legislative Assembly voted in 2025 to reschedule the election for 2027. The election is scheduled to occur on 28 February 2027 with concurrent legislative and municipal elections.[14][30] To win, a candidate needs a simple majority.[15] Salvadorans will elect a president and a vice president on a joint-ticket. All candidates must be Salvadoran citizens by birth and at least 30 years old. Presidential and vice presidential candidates must be affiliated with political parties registered with the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) in order to participate in the election.[31]:273 As of the 2024 presidential election, there are 6,214,399 registered voters.[2]:364
Political parties
Political parties must be registered with the TSE in order to participate in the 2027 presidential elections. As of August2025[update], twelve political parties are eligible to participate in the election.[32]
In a 2024 interview with Time, Bukele stated that he would not seek a third term in 2029 (before the election date was moved to 2027).[42] Although Bukele declined to run in the next election, The Economist speculated immediately after Bukele's re-election that he could seek to run for a third term as he remarked that the constitution did not "currently" allow for a third presidential term.[43] The July 2025 constitutional reforms also made him eligible to run for re-election in 2027.[14][15][44] Salvadoran political scientist Daniel Zovatto believes that Bukele will run for re-election and intends to establish a political dynasty.[33] If Bukele wins re-election in 2027 and completes his third term, he would become the longest serving president in Salvadoran history.[34][45]:17
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Gerardo Awad attempted a presidential run with the Salvadoran Independent Party (PAIS) but ultimately withdrew his candidacy. He announced that he would prepare for a new campaign in 2029 (before the election date was moved to 2027).[46] In October 2024, politician Ronal Umaña established the Cambio Total political party[47] and has called for opposition figures from ARENA and the FMLN to unite under Cambio Total ahead of the next presidential election.[48] Umaña has called for the need to "found a new republic" ("fundar una nueva república") after Bukele leaves office.[49] In August 2025, Umaña proposed nominating La Prensa Gráfica contributor José Miguel Fortín Magaña as a presidential candidate[37] and economist Evelyn Martínez as a vice presidential candidate.[38]
On 3 August 2025, Flores, who was the FMLN's 2024 presidential candidate, called on FMLN party members to prepare to campaign for the 2027 election. He stated that he was campaigning to "recover democracy" ("recuperar la democracia").[50] Flores has not announced if he will attempt another presidential campaign in 2027.[35][36] On 11 August, Francisco Lira (an ARENA deputy in the Legislative Assembly) called on ARENA to not participate in the presidential election as it would "support unconstitutional re-election" ("avalar la reelección inconstitucional") and called on Salvadorans to spoil their vote,[51] but ARENA's National Executive Council (COENA) stated that the party will participate.[52] On 17 August, Ortiz told Telenoticias Megavisión that Vamos was evaluating whether or not to participate in the 2027 presidential election as "[the government] just changed the rules" ("acaban de cambiar las reglas").[39][40]
On 25 August 2025, Guillermo Gallegos, the vice president of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA), announced in an interview that GANA would run a presidential candidate in 2027. He added that GANA's goal in running a presidential candidate is to support Bukele by "legitimizing the electoral process" ("legitimando el proceso electoral") as he believed that "there is no one today who can beat [Bukele]" ("no hay nadie que le gane al presidente hoy por hoy").[41] A few days later, Gallegos stated that GANA would support Bukele if he ran for re-election.[53] Gallegos has announced that he himself will not run for president.[41]
Indirect elections are indicated with asterisks (*), direct elections later decided by the legislature are indicated with carets (^), and elections prior to independence are indicated with the number sign (#). Future elections are in italics.
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