There was no quorum on Wednesday, 10 June 2020 for passing the fifth extension of the National State of Emergency. The Presidency has requested a 17-day extension, from 14 June to 30 June. This would bring the State of Emergency to one day before the scheduled reopening of airports and the tourism industry on 1 July, and just four days before election day on 5 July.
Former president of the Chamber of Deputies Ruben Maldonado (National District – PLD/People’s Force) says that the government has not been able to “buy” the extension. There is speculation the government is offering RD$10 million for a vote. Yet, on Wednesday, the government’s bloc of legislators could not approve the agenda for the day.
Maldonado, the spokesman for the legislators that back former President Leonel Fernandez, who is now in the opposition, says the People’s Force legislators will not vote “to continue giving the government a free license for procurement at over market prices.” He called the extension “a license to continue using the epidemic and life of Dominicans as an instrument to achieve political objectives.”
Maldonado explained that the party decided it was better that the vote did not reach the floor. As a result, there was no quorum to pass the day’s agenda that would have included the vote for the extension. He made the remarks on the El Interactivo radio talk show on Super7FM. He explained that they decided not to risk the resolution going to a vote, because there was always the possibility opposition legislators could vote in favor.
Maldonado says that the government wants to create a panic to impose a candidate that is not in the heart of the Dominican people. He was referring to Gonzalo Castillo, the last-minute candidate for the ruling PLD party. He said the resolution to extend the state of emergency is an attempt by the ruling party to continue benefitting from government resources. He says the government has bought face masks at RD$500 each when they are for sale in the market for RD$25 each.
Gustavo Sanchez, spokesman for the PLD bloc in the Chamber of Deputies, says the government will work to achieve the needed consensus to pass the extension on Friday. “We will reach out to the political party blocs, and see that those deputies who were not present be there on Friday,” he said. He said the progressive spread of the disease continues in the Dominican Republic. He says this is notable when testing is done in the barrios. He expressed his concern that if the state of emergency is interrupted, the hospitals may be swamped with new cases.
The Chamber of Deputies scheduled a next session for Friday, 12 June, given that Thursday is a national holiday, Corpus Christi Day. It is yet to be seen if the legislators will pass the bill on Friday. If it is not passed, the state of emergency expires on 13 June.
In the previous extension, the lack of quorum led to time for further negotiations among the legislators. The same is happening now. The official line of the majority of the opposition legislators, the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) and the PLD dissidents now under the People’s Force (FP) umbrella of the former President Leonel Fernández, is to vote against. The passage of the extension will depend on the these negotiations.
Jaime Rodríguez, an expert in Constitutional Law, told Diana Lora and Patricia Solano of La Cuestion talk show, that the motion submitted by President Danilo Medina will expire on Saturday, 13 June if not renewed in the Chamber of Deputies as received from the Presidency. If amended, the bill will need to return to the Senate, where the PLD has majority. Rodríguez said that national state of emergency is a temporary measure. The Dominican Republic has been under a state of emergency since 19 March 2020.
Rodríguez says that the parameters the High Commission for the Prevention of the Coronavirus is using for the reopening plan are not publicly known. He remarked that churches have been authorized to open, not so other businesses. “In the Dominican Republic, there is a lot of discretion in deciding and applying the measures,” he says. “What are the criteria to authorize a mass and not other activities? Who decided to authorize the masses?” he asked on the radio talk show.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Dia
11 June 2020