Title: Lawyers Urge Supreme Electoral Tribunal to Declare Salvadoran Presidential Re-election Resolution “Inapplicable”
In a significant development, a group of lawyers has approached the magistrates of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in El Salvador on Thursday, calling for the annulment of a controversial resolution issued by the Supreme Court in 2021. This resolution enables presidential re-election in the country, a move that has been widely criticized by legal experts who argue it is unconstitutional.
Rafael Garciaguirre, one of the lawyers involved, emphasized that according to Article 77-A of the Constitutional Procedures Law, “every court in El Salvador is competent to declare the inapplicability of any provision or rule that violates the Magna Carta.” The lawyers hope that the Electoral Tribunal will adhere to the constitutional mandate and declare the Supreme Court’s resolution invalid.
The resolution in question was issued by the magistrates of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) in September 2021. It introduced a change in criteria regarding immediate re-election, allowing President Nayib Bukele to seek a second term. Criticized for its questionable selection process, the judges appointed by Bukele’s allies in Congress asserted that the restriction on immediate re-election was applicable only to a ruler who had been in power for ten years. Previous rulings had mandated that a president must complete their five-year term and wait ten years before seeking the presidency again.
Accompanied by Francisco Rovira, the secretary of the National Opposition Union (UNO), a center-right movement, the lawyers highlighted that their petition aimed to defend the constitution and not to disrespect the president. Rovira affirmed, “We are not making any mockery; we are simply applying the defense of the Constitution.”
President Bukele, who expressed his intention to seek re-election in September 2022, would become the first president in El Salvador’s democratic history to pursue immediate re-election. As per the resolution, if given the opportunity, the president would need to request a leave of absence “six months before the start of the presidential term.” Consequently, Bukele would govern only the initial six months of his fifth year and would be required to step down from the presidency in January 2024.
Several legal experts, including the Faculty of Jurisprudence at the University of El Salvador, have highlighted that Bukele’s re-election could potentially violate various articles of the constitution. Specifically, it has been pointed out that the constitution states that the individual who has held the presidency cannot “continue in office for one more day.”
Bukele rose to power in 2019 with the electoral vehicle of the far-right party Gran Alianza por la Unidad Nacional (Gana) after a registration delay of his own party, Nueva Ideas (NI).
As the legal battle over presidential re-election unfolds, El Salvador faces a critical moment in its democratic journey, with the outcome expected to have far-reaching implications for the country’s political landscape.