El Salvador’s Ruling Party Clears Path for Bukele’s 2027 Bid

El Salvador’s ruling party has formally backed President Nayib Bukele for the country’s 2027 presidential election, turning a disputed constitutional pathway into an official candidacy.

Nuevas Ideas ratified Bukele’s candidacy on July 13, 2026, and again named Vice President Félix Ulloa as his running mate, according to the Associated Press. The decision does not mean Bukele has won another term. The presidential election remains scheduled for 2027.

What changed in 2025

The legal framework for the bid was changed on July 31, 2025, when the ruling-party-controlled Legislative Assembly approved and ratified constitutional reforms with 57 votes. The amendments allow indefinite presidential reelection, extend future presidential terms from five years to six and eliminate the second round of voting.

The Assembly also approved a transitional measure shortening the presidential term that began on June 1, 2024. Instead of ending in June 2029, that term will end on June 1, 2027, so presidential, legislative and municipal elections can be held together. El Salvador’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal is now preparing for the 2027 electoral process.

Under the earlier constitutional framework, a president could not immediately seek another term. A September 2021 ruling by the Constitutional Chamber interpreted the rules as allowing one consecutive reelection, a decision that helped clear the way for Bukele’s February 2024 reelection. Constitutional scholars and legal advocates criticized that result and the court’s interpretation.

The 2025 amendments went further. They removed the restrictions that barred immediate presidential candidacy and penalized efforts to promote presidential reelection, opening the possibility of repeated reelection through successive elections.

Why the reform process remains disputed

The changes are now part of the country’s constitutional framework, but their legitimacy remains contested. Critics argue that the Assembly rewrote rules governing the transfer of power through an accelerated process controlled by the president’s political bloc.

That process followed an April 2024 reform that removed the longstanding requirement that constitutional amendments be approved by two successive legislatures. EL PAÍS reported that the change allowed the same legislative majority to approve subsequent constitutional amendments without the earlier institutional delay.

The government has defended the reforms as lawful. Bukele has argued that indefinite reelection exists in many countries and that longer presidential terms can reduce the cost and frequency of elections. Those are the administration’s stated reasons; they do not settle the separate question of whether courts, election officials, lawmakers and civil-society organizations can independently scrutinize an incumbent seeking to remain in office.

The accountability question

Bukele has retained substantial public support, including over his government’s security policy. AP reported that Salvadorans credit the administration’s state-of-emergency policies with reducing homicide rates, while also reporting that the emergency regime has involved more than 90,000 imprisonments and that rights organizations have documented deaths in custody.

Support for the security policy and concerns about institutional checks are separate issues. Approval of a president’s results does not by itself establish that courts, prosecutors or election authorities are operating independently.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has raised concerns about arrests of human-rights defenders, detention-review periods exceeding 15 days and the effects of El Salvador’s Foreign Agents Law on civic organizations and alternative media. The commission said the law requires registration for organizations receiving foreign funding, imposes a 30% tax on those resources and permits fines of $100,000 to $250,000, along with possible suspension or cancellation of legal status.

The IACHR’s statement documents reported cases and institutional concerns; it does not establish criminal liability against Bukele or other officials. Similarly, claims that constitutional changes were manipulated to preserve power remain allegations or political criticism unless resolved by a final judicial finding.

What happens next

The next checkpoints are candidate registration, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal’s administration of the contest, opposition participation and the conditions under which the 2027 campaign takes place. The central question is no longer only whether Bukele can win another election. It is whether the institutions overseeing that election can act independently while the incumbent benefits from rules changed by his own legislative majority.

Key sources

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