Partido Reformista Social Cristiano politicians, Mario Read Vittini, Federico Antún Batlle, Johnny Jones and Amable Aristy Castro, said at the National Assembly of the PRSC held on Sunday in a city hotel that the party is strong enough to go alone to the municipal and congressional election of this May. The politicians rejected an alliance with the government party, PLD. Furthermore, Jacinto Peynado, former presidential candidate of the PRSC in the 1996 election, said that the party gained nothing from their PLD alliance that led the PLD to the presidency. Peynado has rejected the possibility of accepting a nomination to run for mayor of Santo Domingo. Dr. Joaquin Balaguer said that PRSC candidates for municipal and congressional posts would be chosen by popular vote in the primaries to be held 17 January- 8 February. The Santo Domingo candidates will be chosen in the 8 February primary. "No one, not me nor any other member of the PRSC, can aspire to a post if not elected in an open primary," he said. During the National Assembly, the party also approved to increase the members of the Central Executive Directorate to 250, up from 100.
