The Presidency requested a 25-day extension of the National State of Emergency that is set to expire on 30 April 2020. President Danilo Medina in a letter to Congress said that the reasons that led to the initial declaration of the state of emergency still persist. Medina said there would be an increase in the pace of the disease’s spreading if the state of emergency is not renewed.
The state of emergency was approved for 20 March to 13 April, and thereafter extended to 30 April. The Presidency had requested a second 25-day extension yet this was limited to 17 days.
On Sunday, 26 April 2020, the resolution for extending the state of emergency for 25 days was approved in the emergency session carried out in the National Assembly hall with the presence of 25 senators. The vote went 23 in favor of the 25 senators that were present.
The request needs now to be debated in the Chamber of Deputies. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Radhames Camacho (PLD-National District), who had been on a leave of absence after he tested positive for Covid-19, is expected to lead the session. Camacho is a strong supporter of President Danilo Medina.
States of Exception Law 21-18 provides the framework for the National State of Emergency. It authorizes continuing extensions of the restricting of civil rights and flexibility in government procurement controls while the situation originating the state of exception prevails. Yet, Orlando Jorge Mera, spokesman for the leading opposition party, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM), said that Art. 28 of that same Law 21-18 authorizes that the extension be only for a similar period. He said the extension should be for no more than 15 days.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
El Caribe
N Digital
El Pregonero
Abogadom
27 April 2020