In Hoy newspaper yesterday, Thursday 10 March 2016, political scientist Rosario Espinal writes that she considers it very unlikely that President Danilo Medina will fail to secure the needed 50%+1 of the vote in the 15 May 2016 election. The result is needed in order for Medina to be re-elected without having to go to a second round runoff.
Espinal says that Dominicans have traditionally avoided the second round, which was only necessary when fraud led President Joaquin Balaguer to match Dr. Jose Francisco Pena Gomez of the PRD in the 1994 election.
Speaking on the Hilando Fino TV program, Espinal said that for the PRM to win the election, they would have to obtain more than the 47% of the votes that former President Hipolito Mejia of the PRD received in 2012.
Espinal expressed her approval for Medina’s decision to keep on Margarita Cedeno, former President Leonel Fernandez’s wife, as Vice President. He said this would ensure unity within the PLD. She also praised the choice of Carolina Mejia as vice presidential running mate by Medina’s main political opponent, Luis Abinader of the PRM. She said that the choice also serves to consolidate the vote of PRM supporters.
