El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele granted leave to campaign for reelection

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has been granted leave by Congress for six months to allow him to campaign for reelection despite a constitutional prohibition on reelection. Bukele will seek a second five-year term for the New Ideas party in the Feb. 4 elections. Vice President Félix Ulloa also requested leave to campaign again as Bukele’s running mate. Congress also Thursday approved Bukele’s selection of Claudia Juana Rodríguez de Guevara, his private secretary, to fill in until his current presidential term ends next May. Constitutional lawyers maintain that Bukele’s reelection bid violates at least four articles of the constitution. But the Supreme Electoral Tribunal has ruled Bukele’s candidacy met the legal requirements.