The Executive Branch, through its legal consultancy, submitted last Monday the proposal for constitutional reform, with modifications to those discussed in recent weeks, specifically concerning the period for which the Attorney General of the Republic will be appointed, the inamovibility goes from 4 years to two years.
Now, we will analyze each of the points proposed by the Executive Branch, starting with the literal “a) Guarantee the constitutional stability of the presidential election rules by preventing future modifications that deal with them.” On this aspect we must emphasize that the current Constitution, which was specifically modified in 2015, establishes the two consecutive periods and never again, the same formula that was proposed in the constitutional reform of 2002, so reiterating what already exists and is reflected in our legal-constitutional system does not create any novelty in this regard, and placing a clause on the president whose mandate carries out the reform, in this case, President Luis Abinader, is unnecessary, especially because a transitional clause has a specific purpose in time, and is at the mercy of the constitutional interpretation that can be given to it in the future, especially when there is the principle of “non-retroactivity of the Law” and our Constitution is the law of laws, even when the intention of President Luis Abinader is very laudable, we must not forget that the approval of the pending laws for the proper functioning of the Constitution is recorded, among them the “Approving Referendum”, which would be enough to interpret by consultation that what is established in a past Constitution does not It adapts to the present time in which its efficiency is questioned, for example, how viable would it be in the future to have a petrification of two presidential terms and never again (it could be 4 years and never again, or 5, 6, 12, that will depend on the Dominican People who are asked in about 4, 8, 10 years).
Regarding literal “b) Consolidate the constitutional autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and specialize its functions.” The Constitutional Court itself, in ruling TC/0001/15, recognized the independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office as the entity in charge of exercising criminal action, and that it is of vital importance that the incumbents govern their conduct by a set of values and principles that determine judicial behavior, such as: impartiality, integrity, diligence, equality, but above all, competence.
Regarding the proposal in literal “c) Unify the holding of presidential, congressional, parliamentary elections of international organizations and municipal elections”. It is a shame that when it comes to reforming the Constitution we forget the principles and values of our founding fathers, such as those of Juan Pablo Duarte, a defender and believer in the strengthening of municipal governments, which was a gigantic achievement when in 2010 it was possible to separate presidential elections, seeking to strengthen local (municipal) governments, and territorial powers, in addition to seeking the counterweights necessary for a healthy Democracy.
Finally, literal “d) Adjust the number of representatives in the Chamber of Deputies”. Although the work of the Chamber of Deputies has been demonized in recent years -for good reason-, the budgetary solution is achieved by making public spending more efficient, and creating opportunities for the private sector to be a larger employer than the State, and with a political commitment to bring the best representation to the National Congress, who will be accountable for what has been done for the future of the country.
