Although the new Constitution, proclaimed on Sunday, 27 October 2024, contains a paragraph said to have been intended to resolve impasses such as the vacancy in the Mayor’s Office of La Vega after the resignation of its mayor and vice mayor, reports continue to be published on whether the clause will help resolve the limbo. Diario Libre reports that the reform to the Dominican Constitution could have further complicated the selection of a new mayor in its issue of 29 October 2024.
The La Vega mayor position was left vacant when President Luis Abinader pulled recently elected Mayor Kevin Cruz to be his Minister of Sports in August 2024. The impasse occurred when Vice Mayor Amparo Custodio resigned.
The paragraph in the 2024 Constitution would refer to Municipal Law 176-07, on the National District and Municipalities. Law 176-07 establishes in the first paragraph of article 64: “If there is no vice-mayor, the president of the municipal council will address the President of the Republic to proceed with his appointment according to the procedure established in the Constitution of the Republic.”
The newly added paragraph in the new Constitution establishes that, in the event of a vacancy in the mayor’s office, the law will provide the method for replacing the municipal authority.
Yet, Diario Libre explains that the law of the National District and Municipalities had been approved in 2007, three years before the 2010 Constitution came into force and thus is still pending modifications.
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Diario Libre
DR1 News
29 October 2024