Salvadoran leader makes re-election bid official

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele formally filed paperwork to compete for re-election next year late Thursday, despite questions about his constitutional legitimacy to do so.

Bukele, 42, enjoys significant public support and announced last year that he would run for president in February of the following year.

While critics argue that Bukele cannot compete for re-election in 2021 due to a constitutional provision, the country’s top court ruled that he can. Congress, which is controlled by the president’s New Ideas party, chose the court’s judges.

Bukele, the former mayor of San Salvador and a notable bitcoin promoter, ended three decades of two-party dominance in Salvadoran politics with his triumph in 2019.

A recent poll conducted by the Center for Citizen Studies at the Francisco Gavidia University gave New Ideas nearly 70% support, compared to just over 4% for its closest competitor.

Bukele’s popularity stems largely from a sweeping crackdown on the Central American country’s violent gangs, with over 75,000 suspected gang members arrested to date. Violent crime has plummeted since the policy was launched early last year.

But some rights groups argue that the so-called state of exception frequently violates basic due process rights, leading to the arrest and jailing of innocents who are not allowed to mount a legal defense.