During its convention held on 26-27 November at the Club Mauricio Baez, the PRD party decided it would propose to reinstate the ban on Presidential re-election that it has traditionally upheld. More than 2,000 PRD leaders participated in the event. Former President Hipolito Mejia broke with tradition in 2003 when he went against the collective will of his fellow party members and amended the Constitution to allow him to run for a consecutive term of office. At this week’s convention, the party agreed to 207 modifications in their rulings as part of an attempt to restructure the political organization. These changes included the decision that the PRD’s president, secretary general, organizational secretary and director of electoral affairs may not aspire to the Presidency, even if they resign from their positions. The key members of the party will be elected for four-year terms. Former President Hipolito Mejia was seated at the main table, but El Caribe newspaper pointed out that he was not his usual loquacious self and limited himself to the comment: “I back the process in every way.”
Eligio Jaquez, a top figure in the PPH faction of the PRD that supported the failed Mejia’s failed bid for re-election, is quoted in El Caribe as saying that the PPH group’s support of decisions made does not mean they are admitting to mistakes made in the most recent electoral campaign. “I voted ardently for this because the great majority of the party’s National Executive Committee made this determination. Politics has a lot to do with circumstances, and while at one time it was good to be in favor of re-election, today the circumstances demand a revision.”