El Salvador's electoral tribunal announced that the presidential election will be held on February 28, 2027, clearing the way for President Nayib Bukele, in power since 2019, to seek a third term after a constitutional change last year scrapped term limits and lengthened terms from five to six years. Bukele, popular for a sweeping gang crackdown that has driven crime to record lows, has been nominated by his Nuevas Ideas party, but rights groups say the offensive, which has seen around 92,000 people detained under a state of exception since 2022, involves widespread abuses. The vote matters because a win would extend his rule to 2033, while the challengers so far, Maytee Iraheta of the right-wing ARENA party and Rafael Aguirre of the left-wing FMLN, come from the parties he displaced from decades of dominance.