The Listín Diario indicated that Ramon Alburquerque has secured the vote of 20 senators in his quest to win the presidency of the Senate. Contending senators are Milagros Ortíz Bosch (Distrito Nacional) and Vicente Sánchez Baret (Cotuí). While Milagros Ortíz Bosch is the most voted Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) candidate in the congressional elections, Senator Alburquerque has said that that since she is a likely contender for the party’s presidential or vice presidential candidacy in the year 2000 presidential elections, she should abstain from presiding the Senate. He feels it would be an unfair advantage over other pre-candidates if she used the presidency of the Senate to promote her aspirations. In the Chamber of Deputies, the contenders are Hector Rafael Peguero Mendez (actual president of the Chamber), Hugo Tolentino Dipp, Winston Arnaud, Rafael Gamundi Cordero, Alfredo Pacheco and Manuel Cáceres Troncoso. Peggy Cabral, the widow of the recently deceased PRD leader, Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez, said that her husband would have liked either Manuel Cáceres or Hugo Tolentino Dipp to preside over the Chamber of Deputies.
