President Luis Abinader broke tradition and is the first sitting President to accept to participate in a National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE) presidential debate.
Participating in a panel on the debates on Esta Noche con Mariasela, controversy expert Nelson Espinal called the 24 April 2024 presidential debate “a historic event.” ANJE members had lobbied for the debates for the past 30 years.
The presidential debate is expected to reach record television ratings when it airs at 8pm on 24 April 2024. The presidential debate is scheduled from 8 to 10pm on that Wednesday.
President Luis Abinader was the first to accept to debate for this presidential election. Upon accepting, he said: “Debating is not an obligation, but rather an act of responsibility to Dominican democracy”. He will face three-term former President Leonel Fernandez who did not accept to participate before in the debates. Fernandez now calls the debate “a true dual of proposals and arguments.”
ANJE decided the debate would be among the three candidates with percentages of more than 5% of the valid votes and not between the nine presidential candidates.
The Wednesday, 24 April 2024 debate is a match between three veteran politicians. The debate thus will be between President Luis Abinader (Modern Revolutionary Party – PRM), three-term President Leonel Fernandez (People’s Force – FP), and former president of the Chamber of Deputies and two-term Santiago Mayor Abel Martinez (Dominican Liberation Party – PLD).
Martinez is running for President for the first time and is the underdog in the debate. Fernandez and Martinez have agreed to back one of the other that may reach a second round, in the unlikely case that President Abinader does not receive the required 50%+1 of the valid votes.
President Luis Abinader enters into the debate with an advantage of around 40 points over his nearest contender, Leonel Fernandez. The most recent Gallup poll in March 2024 showed Abinader leading with 61.8%, followed by Fernandez with 20.4% and Martinez with 10.6%.
The debate is happening after the ruling PRM party swept the 18 February 2024 municipal elections.
To warm up for the presidential debate, the senate debates for Santiago and the National District will take place on Monday, 22 April from 8 to 10pm. First, the Santiago candidates Daniel Rivera for the PRM, Demóstenes Martínez (FP) and Marino Collante (PLD) will debate from 8pm to 9pm. That debate will be followed by the much-expected debate between Guillermo Moreno, running for PRM and Alianza Pais and Omar Fernandez, running for the PLD, FP and PRD from 9 to 10pm.
Daniel Rivera is a medical doctor and founder of the Union Medica, one of the leading medical centers in Santiago. He served as Minister of Public Health in the second half of the Abinader administration (March 2021 – January 2024). 53-year old Demóstenes Martínez has been a deputy in Congress representing the PLD in Santiago since 2006. Marino Collante is a graduate in accounting with a master’s degree in Public Administration. A former university professor, he served as comptroller at the National Lottery 1986-1990, and was deputy in Congress from 1990 to 2014. From 2014 to 2020, he was director of the Airport Department.
Guillermo Moreno is a 68-year old former district attorney, former dean of the Unibe law school, who on several times has run for President for his Alianza Pais political party. He is competing against 33-year old deputy, lawyer Omar Fernandez, who is the son of former President Leonel Fernandez. After being fired from his position as National District attorney during the government of Fernandez (1996-1997), Moreno has distinguished himself as the most active critic against Fernandez’s political career. Moreno was chosen to run for senator even when the incumbent senator for the National District, Faride Raful, a leading PRM party director, sought to run again.
The PLD is backing the aspirations of Leonel Fernandez’s son in the senate race. Omar Fernandez seeks the vote of young voters and has his father’s verbosity when speaking.
The vice-presidential debate follows with the three women who are running for Vice President scheduled to appear on national TV on Tuesday, 22 April 2024 from 8 to 9pm. These are incumbent Vice President Raquel Peña for the ruling PRM. Business lawyer Ingrid Mendoza is the widow of the late PLD secretary general Reynaldo Pared Perez. Zoraima Cuello is a former deputy minister of the Presidency in the last Danilo Medina administration.
The debates will be telecast on TV:
RTVD Channel 4
Telesistema Channel 11, Teleantillas Channel 2, Coral 39, CDN television
Colorvision Channel 9
CDN Television Channel 37
Radio:
La Nota Diferente 95.7 FM, HIJB 830AM, La Llave del Amor 95.7FM
The digital platforms of the newspapers Periódicos Hoy, El Día, El Nacional.
All RCC media platforms, CDN radio and television (Channel 37).
Dominican Association of Radio Broadcasters (Adora) members will be transmitting the debate.
Likewise, TV Quisqueya for Dominican audiences in the United States.
The debates will happen at the Horacio Alvarez Saviñon auditorium of the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henríquez Ureña (UNPHU).
The moderators for the debates will be:
Santiago senate debate: Addis Burgos and Félix Victorino
National District senate debate: Jéssica Hasbún and Jean Suriel
Vice President debate: José Monegro and María Elena Núñez
President debate: Roberto Cavada and Katherine Hernandez
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Esta Noche con Mariasela
Esta Noche con Mariasela
Diario Libre
ANJE
Diario Libre
18 April 2024