On Thursday, the Legislative Assembly approved in the second reading the constitutional reform project that allows to dismiss a legislator for lack of integrity or probity.
Ottón Solís, from the Citizen Action Party (PAC), said the slow progress of the initiative in the Congress was shameful. Since 2010, the Constitutional Chamber warned about the urgency of a constitutional reform to punish legislators for violating the principle of probity, the PAC recalled. Solís presented the initiative on May 1th, 2014.
This second reading is very late. Almost on purpose, so that it does not come into effect and it does not affect us. There are several cases of current legislators that would have been affected by this law. At least we are going to create the possibility that it will come into force in the next period of ordinary sessions as of May 1st,”
said the founder of the PAC.
Solís recalled that out of 305,000 public employees in the country, only the 57 legislators can fail the duty of probity without suffering any penalty, because legislators have known how to take care of themselves and cover their tracks over time.
As it is a constitutional reform, it is necessary that the President of the Republic includes it in his message on May 1st and after the new Legislative Assembly approves it in three new readings.