Orlando Gil, a political commentator for El Siglo newspaper, laments that the election of new judges for the Supreme Court has gone political. “The initial discussions leave clear the panorama. It is not about finding good, capable and fair justices. Instead, each party wants to maintain their quota of power in the judiciary,” he concludes. The Supreme Court is short three judges after one judge resigned and two others died. Should the convening of the National Council of Magistracy be used just to choose the missing judges or rule on other matters? Meanwhile, President Hipolito Mejia convened the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies to choose their new representatives on the Council. They will in turn vote on the three new judges. Others who will have a vote are: President Hipolito Mejia, president of the Senate Andres Bautista; president of the Chamber of Deputies Rafaela Alburquerque; president of the Supreme Court of Justice Jorge Subero Isa; Supreme Court judge Victor Jose Castellanos. The Senate, which is headed by a member of the PRD party, needs to choose a senator who is not a member of the PRD to sit on the council. Likewise, the Chamber of Deputies, which is presided over by a member of the PRSC party, needs to choose a deputy who is not a member of the same party. PRD secretary general, Rafael Subervi, feels that the party should take advantage of what he feels is a valid loophole. The ruling says the representative must be from another party. Thus the PRD now is focusing on electing Jose Gonzalez of the Partido de los Trabajadores Dominicanos and Ivan Rondon of the Partido Revolucionario Independendiente. Both are minority parties that allied themselves with the PRD in the 2000 election, and were awarded seats in Congress. This move would leave the Partido de la Liberacion Dominicana, the third of three leading political parties, out of the National Council of the Magistracy. The PLD has the strongest potential presidential candidate in the 2004 election in former President Leonel Fernandez. Suberví says that the party (PRD) needs to take firm decisions to keep itself in power. “He who is in power and leaves loose ends will lose the power and I want that to be clear,” he told PRD followers. The Senate and the Chamber of Deputies will vote tomorrow.
