Versión Español
EspañolOn Monday, one day after being reelected, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced he will send a bill to Congress to ban reelections and increase presidential terms from four to at least five years.
“We are going to present a series of reforms which consist of the elimination of reelection and the extension of presidential terms”, Santos said in a press conference. “We are going to decide together with Congress if it will be 5 or 6 years,” said the president, who counts on a wide supporting majority in Congress to make his economic and social reforms easier to pass.
Presidential reelection in Colombia was prohibited in the Constitution of 1991, until a reform in 2006 allowed for former President Álvaro Uribe to be elected for two consecutive terms, like Santos.
During his press conference, the president opened the door for progressive leaders who supported his campaign to be included in his Cabinet of Ministers in the near future. “I do not rule out the possibility that these leaders will want to be a part of this administration, in which case the doors are open to them,” Santos stated.
