El Salvador’s Congress, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele New Ideas party, on Monday approved a change to an article of the Constitution to facilitate larger constitutional reforms without having to wait until after the election of a new legislature, Assocuated Press reported.
The move further consolidates power in the hands of Bukele and his party, with some critics saying it opens a possible path for the leader to stay in power.
Previously, constitutional reforms had to be proposed and approved in one legislature, then ratified in the subsequent Congress following elections. Now, reforms can be swept through with just the vote of three quarters of legislators.
Bukele, a populist strongman, has already made moves that critics say endanger the Central American nation’s fragile democracy.
In addition to going after critics and locking up 1% of his country’s population in his gang crackdown, the leader last year also approved reforms slashing the number of seats in Congress, effectively weighing upcoming elections in his party’s favor.
