The seven PRD presidential candidacy hopefuls are having obvious troubles in their stated aim to select a single Presidential candidate from amongst their ranks. The decision to take this course was made over one month ago, but despite repeated attempts no single candidate has emerged. At last night’s meeting it was announced that the selection was being postponed until after the plebiscite due to take place at the weekend, in which the PRD membership will vote on the issue of Presidential re-election. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) has said it will rule on the legality of the plebiscite before the weekend. Hoy newspaper’s “En solo cien palabras” by commentator Emilio Lapayesse remarks that this coming election campaign appears to be even worse than its predecessors in terms of content versus personalities. There is no discernible political program being offered by any of the parties and both the PRD and the PLD have abandoned their social democratic and leftist roots. None has expressed an opinion on the forthcoming Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the US and all we will be left with, concludes Lapayesse, are the same old rivals, “with their used, dirty flags, devoid of any popular meaning.” The writer can be contacted at e.lapayese@codetel.net.do
A more positive assessment came from the back-page commentator Adriano Miguel Tejada in today’s Diario Libre, who focuses on PRSC leader Eduardo Estrella’s performance at a party event in his home city of Santiago on Sunday. Many people are now saying that the Reformists have a leader, writes Tejada, and he describes a new sprit of unity in the divided party. Erstwhile supporters of Jacinto Peynado are turning out in support of Estrella, who was selected amidst allegations of fraud from the rival Peynado camp. The writer can be contacted at atejada@tricom.net