President Luis Abinader will present his draft constitutional reform to the National Congress today, as he announced in his inaugural speech.
The president’s initiative seeks to introduce into the Constitution a protection that will make it impossible for any ruler, now or in the future, to remain in power for longer than the two terms currently contemplated by the current Magna Carta.
Abinader has said that this modification is intended to be the last one in terms of presidential re-election, to put an end to caudillismo and personalist continuity.
The proposal also aims to consolidate the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, guarantee the constitutional stability of the presidential election rules and reduce the number of deputies, as well as unify the holding of presidential, congressional, parliamentary and municipal elections.
“This is a reform designed for the benefit of the community and for the consolidation of the principles of democracy, transparency and institutionality that we have always defended,” said the president during his speech at the recent meeting with the press called LA Semanal.
The president pointed out that, in the history of the Dominican Republic, the idea of the “indispensable man” has been a constant in the exercise of power, contributing, on more than one occasion, “to the rise of dictatorships and authoritarian governments.”
He said that most of the 39 constitutional reforms promoted since the founding of the Republic included presidential reelection.
This draft bill does not modify Article 174 of the Constitution, which deals with the composition of the Higher Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Last week, the legal advisor to the Executive Branch, Antoliano Peralta, reported that the decision to exclude this modification from his proposal was made after several meetings with the different associations of prosecutors in the country, who pointed out that the proposed modification would eliminate “de facto” the Superior Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
