Demonstration against Nayeb Bukhel’s re-election bid
Salvadoran President Nayeb Bukele announced in September his candidacy for re-election in 2024, which would normally be impossible in El Salvador.
Hundreds of Salvadorans protested on Friday against President Nayeb Bukele’s bid for re-election at the end of his one-term mandate and the detention of “innocents” in his fight against criminal gangs. “No re-election” and “Not another day” were carried on placards by protesters who marched this Independence Day.
“We are marching in solidarity to say no to re-election,” Sonia Urrutia, head of the Popular Front of Resistance and Rebel Alliance, told reporters. At the rally, Judge Juan Antonio Duran affirmed that “re-election is absolutely prohibited” by the Constitution.
The 42-year-old Salvadoran president announced his candidacy for re-election in 2024 in September. The announcement has reignited the debate over the constitutionality of such a decision, which was made possible by a controversial ruling handed down by Supreme Court judges. Parliamentary majority favors the head of state.
Considerable progress
In September 2021, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court interpreted an article of the constitution that would allow Nayeb Bukhel to stand for re-election. However, the constitutional ban on running for a second consecutive term has always been respected by his predecessors.
Opinion polls give Nayeb Bukhele a substantial lead. But with nine out of 10 Salvadorans approving of the president’s crackdown on criminal gangs, his swift approach has drawn criticism from human rights groups and the United Nations and analysts. and without counterforce.
Under emergency law, which allows the judiciary to declare and authorize warrantless arrests, the government has jailed some 72,600 suspected gang members. According to officials, about 7,000 wrongly arrested people have been released. At the demonstration, Patricia Santamaria held up a photo of her son Alex Ernesto, 34, “They have detained him unjustly since December 2, 2022. He has a clean criminal record,” she said.
AFP
Did you find an error?Please let us know.
“Avid gamer. Social media geek. Proud troublemaker. Thinker. Travel fan. Problem solver.”