The constitutional lawyer and political analyst, Miguel Antonio Bernal, referred this Tuesday to the announcement that President Laurentino Cortizo made to the country on Monday afternoon, reporting that he had been diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome.
Given this, the jurist pointed out what are those procedures that our Constitution establishes in the possible absence of a president, either for a short or definitive time, since Cortizo will travel to Texas, United States, on July 1 to undergo other medical examinations.
“The current constitutional statute in Article 188 establishes that the President of the Republic can be absent from the national territory, on each occasion, without requesting a leave of absence from his position for a maximum period of 10 days without any authorization; in case it exceeds 10 days and it is not more than 30, it is the Cabinet Council that gives the authorization. When it exceeds more than 30 days, it must request the authorization of the National Assembly, but the president has not said how long he intends to be absent, “he explained.
However, article 185 establishes that within the attributions of the vice president is to replace the president of the Republic in case of temporary or absolute absence.
Bernal indicated that speculation enters into article 189, and says that due to the absolute absence of the president, the vice president will take office for the rest of the term.
