Overview

• The Legislative Assembly approved amendments in a 57–3 vote to allow unlimited presidential terms of six years and remove the requirement for a second-round election.
• A transitory provision shortens President Nayib Bukele’s current mandate to end on June 1, 2027, aligning future presidential, legislative and municipal elections.
• Opposition deputies warn the changes erode judicial and electoral checks that have balanced Salvadoran power since 1983.
• Human rights groups and critics label the overhaul a “death blow” to democracy as it deepens the ruling party’s hold over state institutions.
• The 2021 Supreme Court decision by Bukele-appointed justices that cleared his second term set the legal precedent for these latest constitutional shifts.