In a speech to the nation last week in response to a request from the Roman Catholic Church in the Dominican Republic that the President explain where he stands on his possible re-election, President Leonel Fernández gave the impression that presidential re-election was not an issue. Presidential re-election was banned in the constitutional reform of year 1994. Shortly after, Partido Liberación Dominicana government political strategist Carlos Doré Cabral, after a meeting with President Leonel Fernández, clarified that what the President had said was that he would not promote a constitutional reform in this legislative process that ends 15 August, not that the President was totally discarding being re-elected if the new Congress voted so. Hoy newspaper reported that the PLD does not have a position on the issue, as it is not a topic on agenda. Lidio Cadet, secretary general of the party, said that the President in his original speech left no doubt that he would not run for re-election. The Director of Information and Press of the National Palace, Adriano Miguel Tejada, then came forth to say that because of his principles, President Fernández would not run for President in year 2000. He said the President will not seek the presidency because his young age will allow him to run for the presidency at least in four more presidential elections in the future. He said that an extension of the mandate of the President is practically impossible, because the leading opposition party, the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano (PRD) has made re-election a principal campaign issue and Congress is predominantly ruled by the PRD in both houses. Later in the week, President Fernández held a two hour meeting at the National Palace seeking to improve communication of the government with the press. The gabinet in full attended the meeting.
