Bukele secures party nomination to seek third term in El Salvador

Nayib Bukele secured the nomination of his Nuevas Ideas party for El Salvador’s 2027 presidential election, moving closer to a third term after he ran unopposed in its primary. Vice President Félix Ulloa was nominated on the same ticket, and the next general election is set for February 28, 2027, when voters will also choose lawmakers and municipal officials.

The candidacy rests on a legal overhaul that stripped away the country’s old limits on executive tenure. In July 2025, Bukele’s allies in the Legislative Assembly approved constitutional changes that allow indefinite presidential re-election, extend presidential terms from five years to six, and fast-track amendments by removing the requirement for ratification by two separate legislatures. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights called the reform a serious setback for democracy and the rule of law, while Amnesty International warned it posed a serious risk to human rights and civic participation.

Bukele first returned to office in 2024 with 84.65% of the vote, or about 2.7 million ballots, despite a constitutional prohibition on immediate re-election at the time. His political strength has been reinforced by the state of exception he imposed on March 27, 2022, after gangs killed 87 people in three days; by June 24, 2026, authorities had carried out more than 92,480 arrests under the anti-gang crackdown.