Yesterday’s session in the Chamber of Deputies aimed at passing the controversial Preferential Presidential Vote, also known as the Ley de Lemas, fell short yesterday. As expected, the necessary quorum was not achieved, and when the Congressional president closed the session, only 51 deputies were present. Opponents of the now-moribund law make up the majority in the lower chamber, as opposed to the Senate, where the proposed reform of the electoral system was almost unanimously approved by the PRD majority. The law would have allowed up to five candidates to stand for Presidential election under the same party banner, and if no longer an option, certain PRD Presidential hopefuls such as Rafael “Fello” Subervi Bonilla and Milagros Ortiz Bosch will be excluded from the race. While the PRD says that the proposed law is “still on the table,” as the election date draws closer the law’s chances of approval and implementation are diminishing. The Chamber of Deputies has now recessed until the end of February. Although Congress head Alfredo Pacheco has said he would not include the bill in future sessions, because the repeated walk-outs by deputies has prevented other agenda items from being discussed, it is reported that President Hipolito Mejia will ask for a second extension of the session so that the proposed law can be heard. Nevertheless, PRD spokesman Ramon Agramonte, who is also a PPH activist, told reporters yesterday that it was “no longer sensible to continue insisting on electoral reform” due to the opposition the proposed law has encountered. Even Eligio Jaquez, one of the President’s most vocal supporters, is reported to have told fellow activists that the law would not go ahead.
William Malamud of the American Chamber of Commerce feels the shelving of the Ley de Lemas is a positive step forward in reducing political uncertainty. “The American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic applauds the decision taken by the Chamber of Deputies to no longer pursue changes to the electoral law. This decision will allow the Junta Central, the political parties, and the Dominican people to focus on carrying out free and fair elections, and eliminates a good deal of the political uncertainty that has been having such a deleterious effect on the economy.”