El Salvador: Bukele granted leave to campaign for reelection

El Salvador's Congress late on Thursday granted President Nayib Bukele permission to leave his post for six months to launch a campaign for the upcoming general elections in 2024.

"The President of the Republic, Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, is granted a license for a period of 6 months, from December 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024, which shall be exercised without salary and with all the prerogatives that the position holds", said the decree, which was approved by 67 of the 84 deputies. 

What does this mean?

The document said the leave of absence does not "rupture of the link" between the Bukele and the presidency, but rather suspends "the exercise of the competencies or the public function" required by the post. 

Claudia Rodriguez, the current head of the National Directorate of Municipal Works will replace Bukele in his duties.

The decree further granted leave to Vice President Félix Ulloa, who will seek reelection together with Bukele for the ruling party Nuevas Ideas (NI).

Legislators also voted for Bukele to maintain his immunity so that he could not be criminally prosecuted without it passing through Congress.

Is Bukele's re-election bid unconstitutional?

A controversial ruling in 2021 by El Salvador's Supreme Court established a new procedure that allowed Bukele to run in the February 2024 elections. 

Before this ruling, a president had to wait 10 years after the end of his term to run again for the presidency. 

Thursday's move by Congress was the last step required for Bukele to launch a campaign.

Several constitutional lawyers have questioned the 2021 ruling, saying it is not a legal mandate because the election of the magistrates did not take place according to the legal process.

Despite this, earlier this month, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal ruled that Bukele's candidacy met the legal requirements.

The last time an El Salvador president seeked immediate reelection was under the dictatorship of Maximiliano Hernandez Martinez in 1935.

Congressman Johnny Wright, of the opposition party Nuestro Tiempo (NT), said that the situation is a "real tragedy for our country, for the region and for the world".

Bukele, who was formerly a mayor of San Salvador, is known globally for his sweeping crackdown on El Salvadoran gangs, which has drawn allegations of human rights violations.

mk/wmr (Reuters, AP, AFP, EFE)