A group of lawyers united in the movement called La Defensoría del Pueblo, spoke out in favor of immediate presidential re-election, and argued that Nayib Bukele has the legal and popular credentials to compete electorally in 2024 for a second term.
The Said movement, made up of more than 25 lawyers, said that the current Constitution of the Republic—which dates from 1983—already contemplates the figure of immediate re-election, which has been reinforced with the interpretations that two constitutional chambers have made in relation to that provision contained in the first ordinal article 152 of the Magna Carta.
«Citizen President Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez has not held the presidency of the republic in the immediately preceding presidential period, in the six months that the constitutional provision says, and that the Constitutional Chamber takes up in its interpretation. Therefore, the President of the Republic complies with the legal, objective conditions to be able to run for an election», argued Sergio Manuel Peñate.
After explaining the legal scenario, the movement stated that it will be the citizens who will finally decide, at the polls, if they vote for President Bukele’s candidacy, and if they re-elect him for the 2024–2029 period. The president announced on September 15 his interest in competing in 2024 to govern for a second five-year term.
«Sovereignty resides in the Salvadoran people, and they cannot be arbitrarily deprived of the possibility of speaking out and deciding. It is the people who will decide whether Nayib Bukele is re-elected or not. The alternation is also not affected by this possibility [of re-election], since there are other political expressions that are authorized to participate, «said Ricardo Guardado, also a lawyer.
According to unofficial information published by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), to date there are 12 parties legally registered to compete in the 2024 elections, when citizens will elect the president of the republic, the municipal councils and deputies of the Legislative Assembly and Central American Parliament (Parlacen).
Among the parties that will compete are Nuevas Ideas, which is the first political-electoral force in El Salvador, and traditional parties already defeated at the polls last year, such as ARENA and the FMLN.
The Guild considers that Bukele enjoys popular support to opt for a second presidential term, for the work he has done in social areas such as health, security, education, and employment, since the beginning of his government, during the pandemic and the inflationary crisis .
Results of different national and international surveys have confirmed that the president has broad popular support. For example, the CID Gallup polling house revealed last week that Bukele has 86% approval from citizens for his performance in office and is the best evaluated among his counterparts in Latin America.