By Nelson Renteria
SAN&nbsp;SALVADOR&nbsp;(Reuters) -El&nbsp;Salvador's president signed into law an&nbsp;electoral reform on Wednesday that reduces the&nbsp;size&nbsp;of&nbsp;Congress&nbsp;by nearly a third, a move the ruling party says will reduce spending and critics say consolidates power&nbsp;ahead&nbsp;of&nbsp;elections.
The reform, announced last week by President Nayib Bukele in an address marking four years in government, cuts the unicameral&nbsp;Congress'&nbsp;size&nbsp;from 84 lawmakers to 60.
Congress&nbsp;approved the law in the early hours of Wednesday.
Bukele also proposed a reform to consolidate the country's 262 municipalities into 44 districts.
Opposition parties say they will reduce smaller parties' political participation to a minimum.
"This decision has an&nbsp;electoral interest, which is precisely to continue concentrating power, concentrating resources," lawmaker Anabel&nbsp;Belloso of leftist party FMLN said.
Presidential and legislative&nbsp;elections will be held in February, with municipal and regional Central American Parliament&nbsp;elections scheduled for March.
Bukele is highly favored for re-election, despite the constitution appearing to clearly prohibit consecutive terms.
In 2021,&nbsp;El&nbsp;Salvador's top court, whose members are appointed by&nbsp;Congress&nbsp;which is controlled by the president's party, ruled that Bukele could stand for re-election, a decision that drew international condemnation.
The reform proposals are part of a larger "war on corruption" announced by the president.
Bukele said last week he would also build a prison for white-collar criminals, similar to the "mega prison" opened earlier this year for gang members.
He launched a harsh crackdown on gangs last year, suspending some constitutional rights as part of a so-called state of exception.
That move garnered widespread support among&nbsp;Salvadorans, though human rights groups say innocent people have been caught in the dragnet.
(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Writing by Kylie Madry and Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Edwina Gibbs)

you might like

El Salvador slashes size of Congress ahead of elections