Danilo Medina, presidential candidate of the Partido de la Liberación Dominicana, rescued the lame Junta Central Electoral at noon today. Medina, in a press conference, told the nation what the delays in the bulletins of the JCE had been saying since midnight of 16 May. "It is clear that in this first round there has not been a winner of the election," he said. He was referring to the Electoral Law that states that for a candidate to win in the first round, he must have 50%+1 of the vote. The 13th bulletin of the JCE showed that Hipólito Mejía had 49.6% of the vote, with the PLD candidate Danilo Medina in second place with 24.95%, and Joaquín Balaguer of the PRSC with 24.6%. "As per the Electoral Law, what would have been correct would have been for the JCE to call a run off election. But the JCE has not dared to tell the country the truth and we know they are under tremendous pressures to declare the PRD the winner." "The Electoral Law, Art. 162 establishes that if one of the two parts chosen to attend the election chooses to decline, the JCE could declare winner the candidate that most votes received. "Given the distance between the first position and the second, the run off election would be a tortuous road that would affect the social peace of the DR and bring about problems for the economy. Given that the PLD has acted in the best interest of our nation, we have decided to recognize the victory of the PRD and allow that the JCE declare winner, given that that organization has not had the courage to tell the country the truth." Medina said the decision was reached after the party’s top political strategists met yesterday with President Leonel Fernandez in the National Palace. With his brief words, Danilo Medina ended the internal conflicts that caused the JCE to delay the publishing of the final results. Medina highlighted that in democracy one has to be prepared to win and lose, and one has to have the courage to accept defeat. He said that he chooses to not go to a run off election to provide the PRD time to undergo a transition process in peace and tranquility.
