2024News

Will a 2024 Constitution clause help solve La Vega mayor limbo?

Ambiguity in Constitution could improve or worsen the situation of the La Vega mayor, according to a story published in N Digital.

The recently passed 2024 Constitution addresses the situation of who will replace the former mayor of La Vega Kevin Cruz, who had taken office on 24 April 2024 but on 16 August 2024 was named Minister of Sports. The problem is that the deputy mayor also resigned, resulting in a legal void.

In a would-be attempt to resolve the situation, the Abinader administration took advantage of the constitutional reform to pass a clause apparently intended to deal with the situation of the La Vega mayor. The clause in Art. 274 establishes a would-be mechanism to facilitate the naming of a new mayor.

The vacancy occurred when the deputy mayor refused to replace resigning Kelvin Cruz on grounds she was of a political party different from that which had the majority in the La Vega City Council and she understood she would not be able to fully exercise the position. She also expressed the people of La Vega had voted for Cruz, not for her.

Now Art. 274 of the 2024 Constitution establishes that when an elected officer is unable to exercise the position due to death, resignation or any other cause, the replacement will remain in the position until completing the constitutional period. In the case of a missing elected mayor, the law will establish the mechanism to fill the void. Paragraph II of Art. 274 establishes: In the case of a succession vacancy at the municipal level, the law will establish the mechanism to fill the vacancies.

After the enactment of the 2024 Constitution, the president of the Senate, Ricardo de los Santos posted an X stating that the clause does not give President Luis Abinader the ability to name the mayor by presidential decree.

Journalist Carlos Osi Perez writes in N Digital, that the clause changes add ambiguity to the situation of who gets to replace the mayor. He says the clause in the 2024 Constitution is ambiguous and leaves open to interpretation the authority to fill vacancies in municipal leadership.

“Far from clarifying the matter, Paragraph II of Article 274 of the new Constitution seems to further cloud the issue by stating: ‘In the event of a vacancy in the municipal line of succession, the law shall establish the mechanism to be used to fill such vacancies,’ ” he writes.

“But which law? The new constitutional text does not specify which law will govern this process. At the municipal level, Law 176-07 on the National District and Municipalities is currently in force,” explains the writer.

For the past three months, Joel Martinez, secretary general, has been exercising the role of mayor, following Art. 64 of the Municipal Law 176-04 that states: “If the deputy mayor resigns or is not able to exercise the role, the secretary general or whom the municipal council appoints will hold the role temporarily.”

Read more:

DR1 version 2024 Constitution

N Digital
X

Listin Diario

DR1 News
DR1 News
DR1 News
DR1 News
DR1 News

28 October 2024