Central Electoral Board (JCE) substitute judge Luis García writes in El Día newspaper on 28 March 2019 about the clash between the two leading politicians in the ruling PLD and how this is affecting the permanence of the party in power. García is known to be very close to President Danilo Medina.
“The two leaders are risking their political future in the current situation, since in the case of 67-year old Medina, he would be ‘politically retired’ if the constitutional reform is not passed to enable him to seek the candidacy for the Presidency of the Republic; and 65-year old Fernandez, who, if he does win the election on the purple party ballot, would lose strength for future electoral processes.”
In the midst of these confrontations, García writes, the PLD would be left vulnerable, if the two politicians do not reach an agreement. He writes the party risks being divided, which, he says, could result in the party that has governed for 20 of the past 24 years, losing the presidency.
García says that the ruling party faces a complex scenario where a pact between both leaders is necessary “to guarantee a new electoral victory for the PLD.” The PLD was founded in 1973, 45 years ago, by PRD dissident politician, the late President Juan Bosch.
García says that a constitutional reform to enable President Medina to again run for reelection could motivate Fernández to seek to run as a candidate for a minority party. Recently Fernández showed up at a meeting of the Foro Permanente de Partidos Políticos that groups several minority parties. On the other hand, in his analysis, the judge of the Central Electoral Board says that if Fernández is chosen the PLD candidate for the 2020 general election, PLD party members partisan to Danilo Medina could decide not to vote for him, facilitating a win of the opposition.
There is an impasse, he writes. On one side those favoring Fernández say most of the population rejects changing the constitution to allow the reelection of Medina, and on the other end, those favoring Medina say he is the only candidate that can ensure the electoral victory.
García says that hundreds of thousands of party members employed in government risk losing their jobs. “But what is most at risk for the interests of the purple-colored party is that a victory of the opposition would pave the way for the opening of the circus of alleged cases of corruption in court, regardless if they are substantiated or not.“
He concludes with the reminder: “The PLD controls the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch and this means it has a majority in the National Council of the Magistracy, the body that chooses the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice and other high courts.”
PLD deputy Juan Quiñones, a Leonel Fernández supporter in Congress, told Diario Libre in an interview that the excuse to modify the Constitution is the supposed need to unite the municipal election scheduled for February 2020 with the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for May 2020. Nevertheless, he warned the vote of many legislators would have to be bought. The backers of the reelection are not sufficient to pass the motion without the backing of Leonel Fernandez followers or opposition party members.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
28 March 2019