The PRD yesterday took the battle to maintain its leadership of the Dominican Municipal League (LMD) to a new level yesterday, when lawyers for current LMD Secretary-General Julio Mar??ez Rosario filed a court brief seeking to block LMD elections on January 26th. The LMD is the official body representing the interests of Dominican municipalities. The brief, filed with the Civil and Commercial Chamber of the First Circuit of the Court of First Instance, calls for postponement of the elections on the basis of claims that many delegates due to vote were improperly designated by their municipalities. PRSC and PLD officials characterized the petition as without merit and accused Mar??ez Rosario of simply trying to postpone the defeat of his reelection bid and stir up civil disturbances in the process. They also argued that the court in question does not have the authority to hear the petition.PRD has long argued that since it won most of the mayor’s offices in the country during the last elections, it should continue to chair the League. However, the PRSC, which presently runs no national-level body, wants the LMD position and has enlisted the aid of the PLD. The PRSC has put forth Senator Amable Aristy Castro, the former President of the Senate, as their candidate. Aristy Castro has frequently boasted that he already has enough votes sewn up to ensure his victory when LMD elections are held on January 26th.
