The Danilo Medina faction of the PLD now holds the majority in the Political Committee. As reported in Diario Libre, 400 of the 623 Central Committee members are said to be loyal to Medina. In addition, 15 of the 35 Political Committee members are said to be his followers. Diario Libre says that he has the majority of the five of the seven members of the so-called Otan, the group with the greatest influence within the ruling party. Diario Libre points out that the Medina faction’s strategy was effective in preventing controversial senator Felix Bautista’s entry into the Political Committee. This win comes parallel to revelations that in the latest Gallup-Hoy poll, Medina was rated upwards of 82% in popularity, the highest for any Dominican statesman.
Journalist Abel Guzman Then of Diario Libre writes in his political analysis: “These results give Medina greater strength and security to govern. It is expected that he will seek to obtain the greatest number of candidates for senators, deputies, mayors, councilors and directors of municipal districts in the 2016 elections.”
He says that former President Leonel Fernandez has adopted a politically prudent approach, fulfilling his institutional roles and observing Medina’s political momentum. Most Congress members are from the Fernandez camp.
Aspiring presidential candidate and political committee member Francisco Javier Garcia defined Wednesday’s election as “a fiesta of Dominican democracy where there were no broken chairs, chaos, or disorder and where the vote was marked by order and respect.”
As reported in El Caribe, now neither of the two party strongmen, Danilo Medina and Leonel Fernandez have total control of the party. Prior to the changes, Fernandez controlled the party. El Caribe says that 10 of the PLD members are unconditional supporters of Medina and 10 of Leonel, while 13 declare themselves to be independent.
El Caribe reports that the Political Commission members who are in the Danilo Medina camp are:
Cristina Lizardo, Carlos Pared Perez, Juan de los Santos, Simon Lizardo, Ruben Jimenez Richara, Miriam Cabral, Carlos Amarante Baret, Yomaira Medina, Gonzalo Castillo and Radhames Camacho.
The Fernandez faction: Radhames Jimenez, Rafael Alburquerque, Monchy Fadul, Julio Cesar Valentin, Ael Martinez, Margarita Cedeno, Alejandrina German, Ramon Ventura Camejo, Alma Fernandez and Franklin Almeyda.
The self-declared independents are: Temistocles Montas, Francisco Javier Garcia, Radhames Segura, Jose Tomas Perez, Cesar Pina Toribio, Lidio Cadet, Eduardo Selman, Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, Jose Joaquin Bido Medina, Bautista Rojas Gomez, Felix Jimenez, Reinaldo Pared Perez and Euclides Gutierrez Felix.
The Political Committee is the body that decides political issues in the party and decisions are taken by consensus, not by majority of votes, as reported in El Caribe.
Political analyst Alfredo Freites commented that of the 10 new members to the Political Committee, former President Leonel Fernandez was only able to place three n his wife Margarita Cedeno, Chamber of Deputies president Abel Martinez and former attorney general Radhames Jimenez. He comments the next step will be for the Medina partisans to seek to control Congress in the 2016 election. President Danilo Medina is regarded as a master strategist.