El Caribe comments on a communique issued by the Armed Forces and the National Police emphasizing that of the 70 lines of text, 41 are used to state that the forces will not allow any political organization to proclaim a victory in the 16 May election until the results are official. The forces say they will uphold democracy to preserve institutionalism and, referring to the political loyalties of the forces, state that they are not divided. The document is signed by 71 out of nearly 200 generals in the Armed Forces and the Police.
Diario Libre says that according to Francisco Javier Garcia, the campaign chief for the PLD opposition party, the communique was made following President Mejia?s summons of the top commanding officers to the Presidential Palace, to request a document that would provide an answer to statements made by PLD candidate Leonel Fernandez, who alerted to the potential for fraud in the election. ?Beware, because now that we have waited, if there is any intention to adulterate the results of the vote, then it will not be for me to say, but the Dominican people themselves, who will react angrily before any pretense of this kind,? said the former statesman while speaking to the membership of the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) on Thursday, 6 May.
In its Coctelera column, Hoy newspaper says that most of the military know their constitutional obligations, and do not have to repeat them publicly. The writer states that the military communiques prior to an election are unnecessary. ?Furthermore, they can contribute to anxiety, even when the intention is to do the contrary.?