SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – The government of El Salvador will come up with a constitutional reform proposal on Saturday that will include an extension of the presidential term, the possibility of revoking the presidential mandate and the replacement of the electoral court.
After a year-long analysis of possible changes to fundamental rights, the political and economic system and constitutional procedural law, a team of lawyers headed by Vice President Felix Ulloa drew up the document with 215 constitutional reforms.
The reforms would extend the president’s term of office from five years from 2029 to six years and stipulate that a president can only be re-elected for non-consecutive terms.
This also includes mechanisms for citizen participation such as referendums and referendums, as well as the creation of a constitutional court and a new national electoral institute.
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The legal team will discuss the proposal with local and international journalists over the weekend, an invitation announced on Wednesday. They have already held closed meetings with the diplomatic corps, academics and civil society organizations.
The final proposal will be presented in September to President Nayib Bukele, who will have to evaluate the reform plan before submitting it to Congress, where his allies hold the super majority.
In Congress, the reform package would have to be passed in one legislative term and ratified by the other before it could come into force. The legal team has proposed bypassing Congress and ratifying the constitutional amendments through a referendum.
Earlier this month, El Salvador’s government bonds collapsed following the release of the reform plan, prompting Ulloa to criticize international financial markets.
Bukele has argued with both the legislature and the Supreme Court, and human rights groups say he has displayed authoritarian tendencies, which has led some to voice doubts about the reform plan.
“We have to see what the general intentions are with the reform process and the new constitution,” said Eduardo Escobar, head of the human rights group Accion Ciudadana.
(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; writing by Anthony Esposito; editing by Lincoln Feast.)
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