Today during the Plenary Session 154, Deputy Rodrigo Ayala requested a modification of the agenda to incorporate and approve, with dispensation of procedure, the following piece of correspondence: Amendment to Article 248 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador.
With 64 votes in favor, the Salvadoran congress approved the agenda modification requested by Congressman Rodrigo Ayala.
«With this proposed reform, we are not taking anything away from the Constitution. Throughout history, all modifications have required two-thirds of the votes, and now we propose to add that it must be by the same Assembly, with the vote of three-quarters,» said Deputy Christian Guevara. «I want to clarify that we are not breaking any order, as the old political class did with the Constitution of 1983. We respect the rules of the game and comply with all laws and prerogatives to make these reforms,» he added.
«We are reaching the end of this legislature. What an honor it has been to be part of history from this Assembly. We have transformed a country that was sunk in pain and now resurges to shine,» said Deputy Ana Figueroa. «The Constitution of 1983 has undergone 14 reforms that have been ratified and 39 that have not. This highlights the periodic need to review our Magna Carta,» she added. «Today, as deputies, we present this reform to the Constitution to add rigidity to it; we are not taking anything away from the article, but adding one more lock,» she concluded.
With 66 votes in favor, congresspeople approved the modification of Article 248 of the Constitution of the Republic of El Salvador.
The modification retains the possibility of carrying out a constitutional reform through two legislatures, requiring for this a simple and qualified majority, respectively. Additionally, with this reform to art. 248, the entrenched clauses, which are already established in our Constitution, are not modified.
With the reform, the possibility is added for the same legislature to approve and ratify a constitutional reform, requiring for its ratification three-quarters of the votes.
Previous version of Article 248: The reform of this Constitution may be agreed upon by the Legislative Assembly, with the vote of half plus one of the elected Deputies. For such a reform to be decreed, it must be ratified by the following Legislative Assembly with the vote of two-thirds of the elected Deputies. Once ratified, the corresponding decree shall be issued, which shall be sent for publication in the Official Gazette. The reform can only be proposed by the Deputies in a number not less than ten. The articles of this Constitution that refer to the form and system of government, the territory of the Republic, and the alternation in the exercise of the Presidency of the Republic cannot be reformed under any circumstances.
New version of Article 248: The reform of this Constitution may be agreed upon by the Legislative Assembly, with the vote of half plus one of the elected Deputies. For such a reform to be decreed, it must be ratified in the following Legislative Assembly with two-thirds or by the same Legislative Assembly with the vote of three-quarters of the elected Deputies. Once ratified, the corresponding decree shall be issued, which shall be sent for publication in the Official Gazette. The reform can only be proposed by the Deputies in a number not less than ten. The articles of this Constitution that refer to the form and system of government, the territory of the Republic, and the alternation in the exercise of the Presidency of the Republic cannot be reformed under any circumstances.