The People’s Force (FP), the newest political party in the country, seeks to win the spot allotted to the second majority party in the Senate in the National Council of the Magistracy (CNM). The CNM is the government body that chooses the judges of the higher courts. The Dominican Liberation Party also disputes the position.
Former president of the Dominican Republic and president of the People’s Force (FP) party, Leonel Fernández, visited the president of the Senate, Eduardo Estrella, on Tuesday, 27 October 2020 to make clear the party’s position that they are the second majority in the Senate.
Fernández says his party has the numerical second majority in the Senate and claims the seat to the second majority in the CNM. “It is out of the question for us that the People’s Force is the second majority in the Senate of the Dominican Republic,” expressed Fernandez, as reported in El Nuevo Diario.
Nevertheless, the intent for plurality in the composition of the CNM could prevail over the simple count of senators by political party. Senator Estrella himself won the Senate seat on a coalition of parties that included his Dominicans for Change Party (DxC), the People’s Force (FP) and the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM). As a result of this, the PRM desisted from being the second majority party accepting they were part of that coalition.
Spokespersons for the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) say this coalition disables the FP from being the second majority. The PLD also claims it is the second majority, despite being in numerical disadvantage to the FP.
Meanwhile, the FP has announced it is choosing former public health and environment minister Bautista Rojas as their candidate to the CNM.
Read more in Spanish:
El Nuevo Diario
El Caribe
Aguajero
N Digital
28 October 2020