The Chamber of Deputies has agreed to cut 20 deputy seats rather than 53 deputy seats in Congress representing 31 provinces and the National District. President Luis Abinader had asked that 53 seats be cut by 2032. The ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) deputies, that are majority in Congress, agreed to reduce deputies from 190 to 170 in time for the next 2028 elections.
As reported in Noticias SIN, PRM legislators, and former deputy and party president José Ignacio Paliza, met privately for over two hours on Wednesday, 18 September 2024, to negotiate a compromise on one of the most contentious aspects of the proposal for Constitutional Reform that includes the reduction in the number of deputies.
The National District and the large provinces of Santo Domingo, Santiago and San Cristóbal, where there are 10 or more deputies each, is where the cuts would be made, Anibal Diaz, deputy for the ruling PRM told Listin Diario.
The deputies also agreed to keep the same number of national deputies. The Presidency had proposed increasing these from 5 to 20.
This proposal will now be presented to the bicameral commission studying the bill, which is expected to deliver a final report by the end of the month.
Given that the ruling party holds more than two thirds majority in both chambers, the approval of this proposal in the National Congress appears highly likely.
Read more in Spanish:
Noticias SIN
Listin Diario
N Digital
19 September 2024