SAN SALVADOR, June 29 (Reuters) - El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has registered to seek his party's nomination for the 2027 presidential election, pursuing a third term after allies in Congress changed the constitution to allow indefinite re-election, the head of the ruling Nuevas Ideas party said on Sunday.
• Bukele, who first took office in 2019, is serving a second term after legal changes cleared the way for his re-election. In December, he said he was open to remaining in office for another decade.
• "We are ready," Xavi Zablah, head of Nuevas Ideas and a cousin of the president, wrote on X late on Sunday. Vice President Felix Ulloa also registered to seek another term alongside Bukele.
• Both men are set to take part in the party's July 12 primary, though they are expected to face no challengers.
• El Salvador's general election is scheduled for February of next year. Last July, the ruling party's allies in Congress approved a constitutional amendment shortening Bukele's current term, which began in 2024, and allowing him to run again for a new six-year term starting next June.
• In the same vote, lawmakers approved indefinite presidential re-election, removing constitutional restrictions that had previously barred it.
• If elected, Bukele would remain in office until 2033. Bukele, who turns 45 in July, remains highly popular and continues to poll strongly, largely due to a state of emergency in place since 2022 that has driven a sharp drop in homicides.
(Reporting by Gerardo Arbaiza; Editing by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez)
