The President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, registered as a candidate this Thursday, shortly before the deadline for the next presidential elections, which will take place in February 2024, after appearing together with Salvadoran Vice President Félix Ulloa in the seat of the Supreme Electoral Court (TSE) to formalize his candidacy under the banner of the Nuevas Ideas party. “El Salvador is now ready for #Operation2024!” said Nuevas Ideas on his account on the social network 2024-2029, representing the largest political party in the history of El Salvador.” Likewise, he described the president as “the candidate of the Salvadorans” . For its part, the TSE pointed out in a statement shortly afterwards, emphasizing that “the deadline for submitting applications for candidacy for the office of President and Vice-President of the Republic and for deputations to the Legislative Assembly has expired.” Subsequently, Bukele announced With a loudspeaker in hand, he made several statements to dozens of his supporters gathered in front of the organization’s headquarters. “The re-election in 2024 is up to you to decide, we are just running for the elections,” he said, emphasizing that “the Salvadoran people will decide.” “The Salvadoran people will decide whether they want to continue to be the most insecure country on the continent or whether “It wants to be the most unsafe country in the world again,” he remarked during his statements, which were constantly interrupted by the screams of his supporters. “The opposition who are criticizing now are those who prefer to continue to be the most insecure country in the world,” Bukele said. “The Salvadoran people will decide whether they want to continue building this new El Salvador or whether they want to return to the country that was known for gangs and death,” affirmed the President of El Salvador, who defended: “It is the first “For once we live in peace.” “Now all Salvadorans live in true peace,” he stated in his statements. The registration of Bukele’s candidacy came after several hours of uncertainty due to a series of messages posted on social networks by senior Salvadoran officials that raised fears that he had suffered a health mishap. Thus, in Likewise, it was submitted hours after two lawyers filed a request with the TSE to not register Bukele’s candidacy, arguing that “it is clearly unconstitutional” since several articles of the constitution prohibit the re-election of the president. “We have submitted a petition to the Supreme Electoral Court to reject the registration of President Nayib Bukele’s candidacy. We demand that it be understood as contested. The document makes it clear that it has either been presented or will be presented,” explained the lawyer José Marinero. The petition was filed despite the Constitutional Court ruling in 2021 that the president “may opt for re-election if he is out of office for six months before the end of his term.” The body, which had a pro-government majority, had also dismissed full and deputy judges from the Constitutional Chamber, and deputies took over the new judges on the first day of the session, sparking criticism as a violation of the separation of powers. . For this reason, when submitting the petition before the TSE, lawyer Enrique Anaya denounced that “the (Bukele) regime is a slander of the 19th century.” “We are not challenging anything. We demand that it not be registered because it is possible to only challenge what already exists,” he argued, as reported by the Salvadoran newspaper La Prensa Gráfica. The Constitutional Court’s decision opens the door to the possibility that Bukele will resign from office six months before the end of his term, on November 30, in order to stand for election, which his party is legally required to do. , although it caused great controversy in the country. Guevara, leader of the New Ideas parliamentary group, said in July that the president would “step down in December” and appoint “a presidential candidate.” “This person will complete the remaining six months of his term within the five years established by the electoral term,” he concluded. In recent years, Bukele has pushed forward a vigorous “war on gangs” in which he has jailed tens of thousands of suspected gang members and sought to erase any traces they have left on Salvadoran society, including mausoleums and graves. Despite these tough measures, polls strongly support the president and his security strategy and even argue for even further tightening of measures.
