By IANS
Oruro(Bolivia) : The Bolivian parliament has approved, in the absence of the main opposition, a draft constitution that failed to respond to the demand of shifting the capital to Sucre from La Paz.
After more than 13 hours of debate at a university facility here Sunday, the proposal was voted for article by article by two-thirds of the participating assembly delegates, Spanish news agency EFE reported Monday.
Out of total 255 delegates, only 165 were present at the debate on the new draft constitution proposed by President Evo Morales.
The assembly voted down the proposal of an unspecified term for the president in office and, instead, approved his re-election for three consecutive terms.
After the new statute goes into effect, Morales will have the chance to govern until 2018, provided he wins elections twice for five-year terms.
“It’s a great joy for me and for the workers’ and the peasants’ movement,” Morales told reporters Sunday.
The draft, however, failed to mention clearly which city – Sucre or La Paz – will be the capital of the country, thus leaving the raging controversy unresolved.
The assembly members who want Sucre to be the capital staged a walk-out as the article did not take into account their proposal to shift executive and legislative branches of the country to Sucre.
Both the branches have been operating in La Paz since the 1899 civil war.
The draft is now due for a second reading after which it will put to a referendum.