After presidential legal advisor Cesar Pina Toribio said publicly that there was no time for President Danilo Medina to seek re-election, and Medina’s close aide Jose Ramon Peralta responded by saying that there was time, the controversy is being covered in the press. Two years into his first term of office, Medina is one of the most popular presidents ever, but the 2010 Constitution prevents him from running for President in 2016.
El Dia journalist Jose Monegro reports that there is time. What needs to be considered is changing Article 124 of the 2010 Constitution that states that the President cannot be re-elected for the next constitutional period. There is a February 2016 deadline for political parties to present their political candidates. El Dia newspaper points out that a President in office does not need as much time to campaign for re-election.
While President Danilo Medina has said that his term ends in 2016, El Dia says that he has not put a stop to re-election efforts by his followers.
The report in El Dia states that for the Constitution to be changed, support must be secured from backers of Leonel Fernandez as the PLD presidential candidate, or at least the support of all opposition party legislators. As reported in El Dia, this consists of the 50 legislators who are backing Leonel Fernandez, all the opposition legislators and PLD allies (45 from the PRD, 34 from the PRM, 10 from the PRSC and seven independents), and that at least three of those who believe Fernandez should move to the Medina side.
In the analysis, El Dia observes that the Revision Assembly that would be in charge of changing the Constitution is made up of 222 legislators, or the sum of 190 deputies and 32 senators. To make the change, two-thirds of those present in the session would be required, or at most 148 legislators. That is, if 75 vote against the motion, it would not pass.
The PLD has 129 legislators (99 deputies and 30 senators), of whom 76 are known to be Fernandez supporters, plus Vinicio Castillo of the FNP. On the other hand, Medina would have 43 legislators (32 deputies and 11 senators). El Dia concludes by saying that not all Medina supporters would vote in favor of re-election, mentioning that Charlie Marriotti and Wilton Guerrero have already spoken out against it.
Reforma constitucional enfrenta grandes obstáculos congresuales