President Danilo Medina has said “almost, almost” to the press when asked about when he will talk about whether he would seek a third term. Medina has been President since 2012.
The 2015 Constitution impedes President Medina from running again, and there is much speculation on whether he could secure a second constitutional amendment to run again. Polls show he is the highest ranked ruling PLD party politician. Fernández, in turn, is the second most popular, according to leading polls. The 2015 Constitution enables Fernández to run for what would be his fourth term in office (1996-2000, 2004-2008, 2008-2012).
Medina made the comment on Monday, 1 July 2019 on his return to the country after attending the inauguration of Panamanian president Laurentino Cortizo. Also at the inaugural were the presidents of Peru, Martín Vizcarra; of Colombia, Iván Duque; of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales; of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández; and Evo Morales, of Bolivia.
Medina returned to the Dominican Republic at 6pm of the same day he traveled to Panama, landing at the San Isidro Air Force base. He was accompanied by José Ramón Peralta, Administrative Minister of the Presidency; Miguel Vargas, Minister of Foreign Relations; Roberto Rodríguez Marchena, government spokesman and director general of communications; Carlos Pared Pérez and Robert de la Cruz, his special assistants and Major General Adán Cáceres Silvestre, head of the Presidential Security Corps.
President Danilo Medina and former President Leonel Fernández differ over who should be the ruling PLD party presidential candidate for the May 2020 general election. The long-running impasse has begun to affect investment and daily activities in the Dominican Republic.
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Diario Libre
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Diario Libre
3 July 2019