Election results/AP's take

T

Tom

Guest
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) - The second- and third-place candidates withdrew from the Dominican presidential race today, recognizing a first-round victory by opposition leader Hipolito Mejia.

Forcing the country to endure another round of campaigning would be ``a tortuous road'' that could create instability and hurt the economy, Dominican Liberation Party candidate Danilo Medina told a news conference.

``The clear tendency shown by the votes cast is that the Dominican people are inclined to see a government by (Mejia's) Dominican Revolutionary Party,'' Medina said.

Ex-President Joaquin Balaguer also recognized a Mejia victory, said Donald Reid Cabral, president of Balaguer's Social Christian Reformist Party.

Medina said Mejia could win because of a rule that allows the elections board to declare a winner if any party declines to participate in a second round, even if that winner doesn't have a majority vote called for by Dominican law.

With all but 18 of 11,422 polling stations reporting from Tuesday's election, officials said Mejia has 49.86 percent of the vote, just shy of the margin needed to avoid a June 30 runoff.

Free-market advocate Medina had 24.95 percent. The conservative Balaguer, 93, won 24.61 percent, despite blindness and frailty.

There was no immediate comment from the elections board, which was re-examining 46,000 invalidated ballots to determine whether the populist Mejia - who already has declared victory - had cleared the 50-percent threshold. Because each polling station can have no more than 600 voters, it seemed unlikely that the regular vote count could do that.

The 46,000 ballots were invalidated for technical reasons, such as marks in the wrong place. Officials said that if the intention of the voter was clear, it could be used to decide the election.

Balaguer's and Medina's parties had been widely expected to unite in a run-off, as they did in 1996 when their combined efforts helped the Liberation Party's Leonel Fernandez narrowly defeat the Revolutionary Party's Jose Francisco Pena Gomez.

Mejia behaved like a president-elect throughout the day Wednesday, speaking enthusiastically of his plans to better distribute the fruits of a four-year economic boom to the Dominican poor.

Even Balaguer, who was seven times president of this Caribbean nation for most of the last 40 years, ending in 1996, had seemed convinced that Mejia might win, shaking his hand in congratulations during a Wednesday afternoon meeting at Balaguer's house.

Mejia acknowledged the difficulty of gaining an absolute majority and called it an unreasonable requirement. ``It's an abuse to have to get 50 percent of the vote in a country with three parties,'' Mejia said. However, he added he did not intend to change the rule if elected.

Mejia has criticized the current government's free-market reforms and massive construction projects, accusing it of ignoring the basic needs of the poor majority.

Fernandez - who was constitutionally barred from running for a second consecutive term - has overseen an almost 40 percent growth in the economy over the last four years. But the median income still hovers around $2,000 a year and many Dominicans are desperately poor.

In contrast to Medina, a technocrat who promised that the economic success would trickle down to the poor, Mejia promised small public works projects, road repairs, sanitation and better schools.

Balaguer offered to run the country as he did in the past - with a firm hand that controlled everything from the price of gasoline to the National Congress. His critics worried about a return to what they said was an authoritarian government marked by human rights violations and favoritism.

A small scuffle erupted Wednesday night in front of the Liberation Party headquarters between Medina supporters and Mejia backers who were passing by in a caravan. Shots were fired twice but there were no injuries, said Liberation Party spokesman Abinader Fortunato.

The election was observed by more than 100 international monitors, including delegations from the Atlanta-based Carter Center, the Organization of American States, the National Democratic Institute and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems.

IFES President Richard Soudriette said Wednesday his observers had seen no evidence of fraud.
 
G

Guillermo

Guest
Tom,

That's the type of information I believe Dominicans want to hear and are expecting - especially those abroad. I've been trying to get the latest news from the JCE, DR1.com, CNN.com, Listin.com.do, and any other website I can think of without success. Why has not this information been made public by the local (DR) media.

You also make reference to AP in your message. Is this news that we haven't gotten yet.

thanks.
 
R

Rafael Guzman

Guest
Re: So when does Mejia take office? (DC)

Don Hiplolito takes office on august 16!
 
H

hillbilly

Guest
The story behind the story...

Only if the PRSC had finished 2nd would there have been a run off.
As it is now, Balaguer knows his people would not vote for the PLD party again and get dissed again. Once was enough!..As the ol' hillbilly saying goes: "Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!"
There will now be three months of deal making to try and stay out of jail/court/scandals, while the ruling party finishes feathering its nest.
What does the future hold? The crystal balls are sort of foggy right now but the two losers will try and regroup for the Congressional and local elections in 2002. Now THESE should be interesting!
Mej?a's party will have had two years of complete political control of the country, something few presidents have ever had.
If they don't make a show of doing something for everybody-"governing for everyone, without forgetting my own!"-within those two years, the Dominican people should have their first ever opportunity to show by the vote their political will. And don't talk about 1998! Pe?a's death was too much! Balaguer should be dead by then, and new leadership will start to arise in the Purple party too.

I really get a laugh when Medina is called a "free-market" person...Can't anyone remember that this is the Dominican Communist Party/14 June/MPD all dressed up with coats and ties??? As soon as they got in they acted just like the aparatchniks in Russia. Got what they could for themselves and the Party and got out. The Dominican People called them: Come-solos=Eat by themselves; and luciernegas=lightening bugs because the always acted at night; and Chancletas a jipetas =from flipflops to SUVs (maybe the cruelest cut of all.)

That's the story behind the story...
 
N

Natasha

Guest
Please enlight me;-)

"I really get a laugh when Medina is called a "free-market" person...Can't anyone remember that this is the Dominican Communist Party/14 June/MPD all dressed up with coats and ties???"

Since I was born in the late 60's, I was not there during the 1965 Revolution, but my family was, specially my father (who still bears a bullet scar on his leg fired by a US Marine), and my mother, a UASD student back then. The Constitutionalist movement was hardly Communist. That was a label created by the hysterics of the Johnson administration, which didn't bother to find out that there were hardly any Communists to the movement. Remember that this 14 June/MPD was lead by non other than the PRD. Bosch separated from the PRD to create the PLD, much after the Revolution. Unfortunately, all the gov'ts that the DR has had have been tainted with corruption in one way or the other. I have been away from the country during the whole PLD admistration and I cannot speak for what they have or have not done. You are there, so you probably know more than I do.

Regards,
Natasha
 
H

hillbilly

Guest
Re: Please enlight me;-)

natasha: I can respect your ideas, but if you read Caama?o's letters or his Diary, you see all the names of the leftest elements of that era. And don't kid yourself there were a lot of communists in the April Revolution. As for the bullet wound in your Dad's leg...how can you be that sure it was a Marine's? If it was it was an accident, because the Marine was not shooting at him...
the UASD was a hotbed for the leftists back then. the 1J4 was Cuba-backed and funded as was the movements led by Moreno and Prady and the others.
Nowadays, I just try and forget all that stuff. It was senseless and the people that were in the movements were like sheep being led to slaughter.

For years, the country has been trying to get over the 60s. Probably they will have a long time before they do. Like the Civil War in the US....for some it still isn't over.

I much prefer to read your very good recipes on Chivo Guisado.

As for the country these past few years...well, Leonel has tried to do some things that were positive, but his party hacks have generally let him down. That "Come Solo" thing was invented by the people. Anbd the Chancleta a Jipeta was all too obvious. At Christmas time the trucks would come to the houses of the PLD local jefes and off-load the toys and "fundas". the next day only those with party cards would get anything. this didn't go un-noticed.

Schools? A few built, but mostly not paid for...
Highways? built/completed but not paid for. In Santiago there is a georgeous Convention Center that has been unfinished for 4 years...and will probably remain so for another 4. engineers are o wed over 700,000,000$DR
Hospitals? No new ones and the old ones are pretty badly off. So much so that in just Santiago alone there is a new monster Clinica-Union Medica and the Hazims from San Pedro (You know, the ones that made a fortune selling Medical Degrees??) are now building a humongeous new place out by the Fortaleza Fernando Valerio. 1.2 mil will get you office space!
So all in all it was pretty much a grandios exercise in the use of the media to convince the population that things were fine and were getting better. The National Debt has doubled, the peso has fallen by 25% over the past 4 years.....That is why 75% said no to that party.

You can always e-mail me....{:^)==~~
 
N

Natasha

Guest
Re: Please enlight me;-)

Hi,

Hillbilly, the only people that can speak about this are the people that were there. If you were there and say that NO MARINE EVER shot at the Dominican people during that time, well that is YOUR version, and I respect it. But I believe my father's accounts of events, and my uncle's, my mother's, my father's friends and co-workers at the time, one who is my godfather. They were all there.

Okay, even if the revolution was about Communism (which it wasn't), isn't a soverign country's right to experiment with whatever idelogy it wants to? I am not a Communist (even though I have a Russian name :)) and no one in my family is. I actually have never even met a Communist in the DR. The so called Communist Party of the 60's - that was a joke. So the US had to "intervene" because it wasn't going to "allow" another Cuba in this hemisphere - nonsense! Which country has been the US's favorite for years? Does the phrase 'Made in China" ring a bell?

Yes, Hillbilly, I too rather not discuss these things so let's get back to tohet things. No one has the absolute truth about what happened in 1965 (it is still unaccounted how many Dominicans died, by the way, some say at least 2,000). There are a lot of discrepancies, that's for sure.

Regarding the US Civil War, yes, I still feel like it is not over ;-) I live in Virginia and there are some folks here that are kind of strange - alas, this is Robert E. Lee's country! Being that I lived for so long above the Mason Dixon line, I was surprised by how much the south still thinks about the "good ol' days". Hummmm..."good ol' days" for whom?

Thanks for your response :)

Regards,
Natasha
 
C

CES

Guest
Re: Please . . . . (Hi. . . .)

HI Hillbilly,

I very much respect the tenor of your posts here and on the "Bravenet". Please continue the good work.

. . . . . ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ + ~ . . .

"Una Compatriota" on the other hand is, at times, somewhat bemused by the messages from the "blue eyed" visitors to the RD. And at other times she will point out, in language that even non Spanish speakers will understand, the statements made aren't true, " not even low grade BS...".

> > > "For years, the country has been trying to get over the 60s. Probably they will have a long time before they do. Like the Civil War in the US....for some it still isn't over."

I don't know the time frame of your first visit to the DR, so now I'm just guessing here, but I dare say it wasn't before 1965, right? I was in Santo Domingo Dec. '65' approx. 4 weeks. "Una C..."s' family were residents of the Colonial Zone at that time, they were dead (is EXACTLY what happened to many of her good friends and acquaintances) center in the middle of the 1965 hostilities.

> > > ". . . . your Dad's leg...how can you be that sure it was a Marine's? If it was it was an accident, because the Marine was not shooting at him.."

Hillbilly, I don't know if you have military experience, or if do, that you served in some way during the '65' hostilities, so please understand that I'm not faulting any thing you've said. During the US occupation of Santo Domingo the "military geniuses" in charge of the Colonial Zone established several "NO Mans Land" zones, replete with orders to "fire on movement", in other words "sharp shooters were stationed on "hi ground vantage points" to shoot at any thing that moved. All too many innocent Dominican civilians lost their lives to a bullet fired by an assassin. As a counter point: the Dominican irregular combatants were ruthless in their killing of defenseless civilians, there were many atrocities committed by the out of control rebel thugs.

> > > ". . . . the UASD was a hotbed for the leftists back then. the 1J4 was Cuba-backed and funded as was the movements. . . . "

"Una Compatriota" 'sez': "you could count on your fingers the (number of) communists" that wanted a 'Marxist' style revolution. "The communist followers then, were only good for three or four days a week." In other words, Dominicans wouldn't make good dedicated revolutionaries. The Dominican physic isn't about to
to be reigned in by some body quoting "Mousy Tongue".

And finally:

> > > "Leonel has tried to do some things that were positive, but
his party hacks have generally let him down. . . . ."

A good"party hack" will always take care of himself first, all of his friends second, and all the rest as long as the money holds out.

Regards,

. . . CES

ps, Hillbilly if you would like to e-mail me, please feel free to do so. . . .
 
H

hillbilly

Guest
Re: Please . . . . (Hi. . . .)

I was here before during and after the events of 1965.
What is obvious is that you were never military. What I meant was that if he only got a bullet in the leg, the Marine was a poor shot! If her dad had been in the sights of of a Sharpshooter, he wouldn't have been her Dad, is what I'm saying.

The other stuff, about whether there were "Mousy tunes" in the group is undeniable. Whether they were die-hard, is certainly open to discussion!! But to doubt the paymasters were from the USSR is silly. There is too much evidence on that point.

By the way, did you know that more than 1000 of the Marines got married during their stay in the DR?? The most famous was Chuck F. who still races his Corvette!!....

And finally, any conversation about political themes is very easily swayed by the various passions. Just like you have never seen an ex-homosexual, you will not find ex-PRD, ex-PRSC..not the real ones. Therefore, while I certainly enjoy pontificating on political themes every now and then when I get really exasperated, I realize I can't be right in everyone's eyes. Heck, probably I'm wrong in most people's eyes...but it's fun, too...

HB
 
C

CES

Guest
Re: Hi HB

Hi HB,

I'll get this thing right eventually, - posting a message - that's to the point and not assuming anything.

> > > "What is obvious is that you were never military."

I guess signing on the line for a six year commitment counts as prior military, but maybe not. I made "E5" early but my dog tags will not lie, something about being "NG'. How's that for clearing up any ambiguities?

> > > " . . . pontificating on political themes every now and then when I get really exasperated, I realize I can't be right in everyone's eyes. Heck, probably I'm wrong in
most people's eyes...but it's fun, too..."

"Una Compatriota" sez': "2000 Dominicans Did Not Need to DIE" ~ ~ ~ because of a handful of "Mousy Tongues" and ALL the geniuses in the US State Dept. seeing "Commies" in their soup. If I remember correctly wasn't "Landslide" Johnson the president that said "Send in the Marines and fix all those little commie Bastards!"

And your right HB, pontificating can be great fun, carry on. . .

Regards,

. . . CES

> > > "
 
H

hillbilly

Guest
Oh I will!

if you made E-5 early on then you KNOW what I meant. The guy got a stray(1), was doing something stupid like maybe trying to shoot the invaders and was shot back at(2), was in the wrong place and the wrong time (3). There are lots of reasons why the bullet. My point is that he was not, except in case #2, a target. Hell, I was in Gascue buying ice cones in the street one afternoon and heard a round go by. Now that's scary as you no doubt know.
HB