The president of the JCE, César Estrella Sadhalá, said that he has not observed in President Joaquín Balaguer any “sign of remaining in power” beyond 16 August. “I understand that the President of the Republic has not done anything, nor will do anything, to prolong his term. But then if there is a situation of fuerza mayor or things that go beyond his control, i.e. (Balaguer’s), then I cannot give you an answer for that,” he said. He stated that up to now the leader of the PRSC has fulfilled all that was agreed upon and established in the Constitution. He said that the country should not be embarassed by anything, commenting The New York Times editorial on Saturday, 30 March. “If I accepted this position it is because I understand that the President of the Republic will fulfill this commitment. If I had had the smallest doubt I would not have accepted the position because that would mean playing someone else’s game,” he said on the TV program Hoy Mismo of Color Visión.
He commented that he has constantly confronted several sectors that were sure the president would not fund the JCE as agreed. “I would like to say that as of today, the President has not only religiously fulfilled these commitments, but on all those occasions when we have wanted to meet him he has received us, and everything that we have requested, absolutely everything, including exonerations, and cutting through red tape, he has done so religiously and with amazing alacrity.
He said that the only legal change in the situation would be through a constitutional reform agreed upon by the parties that control the National Congress. “As I have said on other occasions, if tomorrow there is a constitutional reform and it is decided that the election will be held, and I jest, in the year 4000, then there will be no election because we won’t be there as we will be dead.”