The general secretary of the Permanent Forum of Political Parties of the Dominican Republic (Fopppredom), José Francisco Peña Guaba, warned that this organization is radically opposed to modifying the 50+1 percentage to win the Presidency.
He warned that if necessary they will take to the streets to reject that purpose. “This is a conquest of democracy and we are going to defend it, if we have to take to the streets, we go to the streets, but we are not going to tolerate that setback for democracy,” he warned.
Peña said that President Luís Abinader’s declaration that he would not accept that any article related to the presidential election be touched is reassuring. “Correct decision of the President, it would be foolish to try to modify the 50% + 1, the will of the majority of citizens must be expressed at the polls in 2024,” he said.
The general secretary of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), Charlie Mariotti, reiterated that this organization will not support a reform of the Constitution to reduce the percentage of 50+1 to win the Presidency.
“The PLD, under no circumstances, would support a constitutional reform that includes an attempt to reduce the percentage of votes necessary to win the presidency of the Republic. If the PRM does not have the necessary votes to win the 2024 presidential elections in the first round, that is their problem and not the Dominican democracy’s, “he said.
He explained that it is a political conquest of Dominican democracy that cannot be altered because it would mean ignoring the popular will of the majority of the population, who decides with their vote who they want to direct the destinies of the country. “Pretending to modify the rules of the democratic game to facilitate a possible re-election of the current president is a disservice to democracy by those who, unfortunately, have given and continue to launch that anti-democratic test balloon, as a way of to dismantle one of the main democratic conquests of the last 30 years of democratic and political life”, he stressed.
Citizen Participation stated that the discussion on whether the elections should be won with a majority of 50% plus one, or if a smaller majority would suffice, is untimely.
He recognized that the formula in force since 1994 was different from what had been negotiated between the majority parties. “At that time, civil society was not listened to, which they advocated by 45%, because they understood that it was the most balanced and that alteration was imposed at the convenience of the ruling party at that time,” he said.
