MONTEVIDEO, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Paraguay's President Horacio Cartes said on Monday that he would not seek re-election in the country's 2018 presidential vote.
The decision came as Cartes has been surrounded by controversy due to a constitutional amendment project that would allow presidents to seek re-election. Paraguay currently has a one-term limit for heads of state as a way of protecting its democracy. The move to change the law was viewed by many protesters as a step towards returning to the country's past of dictatorship.
In a letter sent to the Archbishop of Asuncion, Edmundo Valenzuela, and released to the public, Cartes said that he had taken the decision not to stand "in any case, as candidate to the presidency of the Republic, for the constitutional term 2018-2023."
"I hope the gesture of resignation will help deepen the dialogue aiming to strengthen the Republic's institutions," read the letter.
Cartes also wrote he had been inspired by a message from Pope Francis on April 2, when the religious leader called on "all type of violence" to be avoided in favor of "political solutions."
The constitutional amendment, pushed by the ruling National Republican Association (ANR) and the left-wing Guasu Front, had sparked a wave of protests and strong pushback by most of the opposition.
It was adopted on March 31 by the Senate in a closed session that the opposition deemed as illegal but the amendment must still be approved by the Chamber of Deputies and submitted to a public referendum.
On March 31, a young leader of the opposition party was shot dead by police at his party headquarters, leading Cartes to fire his interior minister and chief of police.
The president also called for a cross-party dialogue, although the opposition abandoned it after just one meeting.
The amendment, if approved, would allow Cartes (ANR) and former president Fernando Lugo (Guasu Front) to seek re-election.
