Fri Aug 01 06:37:58 UTC 2025: ## Bukele Tightens Grip on Power as El Salvador Approves Constitutional Overhaul
**San Salvador, El Salvador** – El Salvador’s ruling New Ideas party pushed through a controversial constitutional amendment on Thursday, paving the way for indefinite presidential re-election and further consolidating President Nayib Bukele’s power. The amendment, approved by 57 Congress members with only three dissenting votes, extends presidential terms from five to six years and eliminates election run-offs.
The move follows Bukele’s already controversial re-election last year, which occurred despite constitutional prohibitions. In 2021, a court packed with Bukele loyalists controversially ruled that it was his “human right” to seek a second term.
While Bukele previously suggested that constitutional reform was unnecessary, this latest amendment allows him to potentially run again after his current term. The reform also shortens the president’s current term to synchronize presidential, legislative, and municipal elections in 2027.
The controversial reform has been met with fierce opposition within El Salvador. Opposition lawmaker Marcela Villatoro condemned the vote as a death knell for democracy, while Claudia Ortiz labeled it an “abuse of power.”
International rights groups have also voiced strong criticism. Miguel Montenegro, director of the Human Rights Commission of El Salvador, stated that the reforms create a “total imbalance in the democracy that no longer exists.”
Noah Bullock, executive director of the rights group Cristosal, which recently relocated from El Salvador due to concerns about Bukele’s crackdown on critics, described the move as a continuation of “the well-travelled path of autocrats.” He highlighted the lack of public debate and the rushed nature of the vote as further causes for concern.
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